Missed Chances
by ss-sunset
Summary: Some people come in to your life for a period and then walk away while some come in and make a home.  What determines this can be all about taking or in some cases missing chances along the way.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

**Missed Chances **

"Yeah, ok. Listen, I have to go. A body just dropped. Is Castle going to be there?" She glanced as she spoke and found Castle watching her from the corner of his eyes. She turned to look back out at the bullpen. "Yeah, I guess, as he does shadow me and I did accept him back as my partner. No, nothing is going on between us." She sighed. "We've gone over this before and I am not going to go over it again. Either trust me or don't, it's your decision." Kate said and hung up the phone. She could feel his eyes watching her every movement and she narrowed her eyes, waiting for him to speak up.

"Everything okay with Josh? Not that I was listening but you tensed up toward the end of there."

"What? Yeah, everything is fine. Let's go." Kate said while standing and strolled toward the elevator ending any further conversation. A second later she heard the familiar sound of Castle's chair squeaking on the floor and the sound of his footsteps rushing to catch up to her.

XOXOXOXO

The ride to the crime scene was quiet, something that Beckett would normally welcome but not today. Today was one of the rare days that she needed Castle to run his mouth, make her laugh and most importantly get her mind focused on the task ahead. Taking a glance in his direction she caught him studying her and couldn't stop the shiver that ran down her spine.

"Care to share with the class, Castle? You look like you have something on your mind." Kate inquired.

"No or no more than usual. Just thought I would see what you would do if I stayed quiet for once and let you work out what ever was bothering you. I have to keep you on your toes somehow." He smiled. "Unless of course you want to share?"

"No."

"Ok, keep holding that stuff in and you are going to get an ulcer." Castle quipped.

Kate rolled her eyes. While he was being annoying this was at least better than the silence from before.

She turned to make a remark back when the lights from the crime scene caught her attention she decided to just let it go. She parked in the first parking spot she could find which was, to her annoyance, a block away, and got out. She took three steps forward and then turned and motioned for Castle to follow her. She couldn't say why she felt the need to, considering that he was usually at her heel every step of the way.

Together they walked up the sidewalk and she could feel Castle brush against her every once in awhile and she took a step over to the edge of the sidewalk to give him some needed space. She still felt his touch with either his jacket or hand as he tried to keep up and wasn't exactly sure she minded it. She found Lanie standing on the sidewalk with her clipboard out ready to report on the victim giving her a much needed distraction from the days events.

"Hey Lanie. What you got for me?" Kate said as she came up beside Lanie.

"I'll show you." Lanie motioned for Kate to follow her and the three of them walked a little ways off the sidewalk and into the alley were a few standing lights were. A woman laid sprawled out on the pavement, her head turned to face deeper into the alley. Kate pulled her eyes from the figure and turned back to Lanie as she began to run down the information.

"I'm guessing she around thirty years old. I'm estimating her time of death between 10pm and midnight, best I can do." Lanie took another few steps forward so that she stood by the body. With a pen she began to point as she talked. "Besides the visible bruising on her arms and face, I couldn't find any other signs of trauma. I'll have to get her back to the lab before I can get you a cause of death. She put up quite a fight, whatever caused it."

"Ok, thanks Lanie." Beckett said and Lanie gave a small nod. She took a look around the alley way and took note of the small Mom and Pop store on the corner. It's possible they would have cameras pointed this direction. The alleyway had dumpsters lined up against one wall and the pathway seemed to a dead end so not a route someone would take back to their apartment. The victim was either assaulted in this location or dragged here from somewhere else. She hoped the camera would be able to give her a better picture of what happened that night.

She felt Castle come to stand beside her as he had held back some to let her survey the scene. She raised her eyebrow at him expecting him to offer his own impressions. Something she had come to welcome over the time they've worked together.

"Any insights, Castle?" She asked and he smiled, taking a step toward the body.

"I noticed the victim was wearing a wedding ring so she was married. She's in plain clothes but judging by the bruising, she worked in some kind of profession that required her to know some kind of self defense but she wasn't carrying a weapon at the time." Castle turned his head toward Lanie and asked, "were we able to get an ID on her?"

Not giving Lanie a chance to respond Kate said, "You got all that just by looking at her body?"

"What can I say, I'm good or at least that is what I am told. Want to test that theory out?"

Lanie broke in. "No, there wasn't any ID on the body. No purse either. When I get her back I can try to run fingerprints."

"Okay, thanks Lanie." Kate said.

"No problem, let me know when you're done."

"Back to your question about testing your theory out for a moment, what would you say if I said yes?" Kate teased. She knew that she was breaking some from her normal demeanor at a crime scene but just couldn't resist. It was so easy to get him going. Unfortunately, the thought also got her going some as well which was a problem.

She let a brief smile cross her face when she saw Castle stammer some but then smile as he looked her straight in the eye with his eyebrow raised. She shook her head and turned, looking for her two detectives. She found them standing at the mouth of the alleyway.

"Ryan, Esposito," she waved them to her and they jogged over. "Start talking to the locals and see if anyone saw or heard anything. Castle and I are going to check this store on the corner to see if they had their cameras turned on last night."

"Right," they both said as they walked off.

Kate turned to Castle and just watched as he was taking another survey of the scene himself. It seemed like more and more he was becoming less of a writer at these scenes and more like a detective in his own right, yet never quite losing his flare for coming up with- shall we say imaginative scenarios.

"What do you think happened here Castle?" He turned away from the body and gave a small shrug as he walked back towards her.

"Well, she is a married women walking by herself late at night so it seems likely she was running to the store to pick up something that couldn't wait until tomorrow. Not many things fit that description so I am inclined to say it was something for a child at home. She got caught up in what she still needed to accomplish that night momentarily so she never noticed the person following her out of the store till it was too late. She turned just as the attacker put a hand on her shoulder. Her training kicked in at this point but the attacker was too strong and overpowered her. The question is Why..."

"Not bad for a rookie. As far as why, that is what we are going to figure out starting with that video camera. If we are lucky, it was caught on tape."

They walked across the street, again he brushed against her and part of her didn't mind. Another part of her was ready to push him away, but she kept that impulse in check and the reached the front of the store. The signs in the windows were in Spanish, Italian and something else that Kate didn't recognize. There were bars and metal gates on the windows, and on the corner of an over hang was the camera she was hoping to see.

They went into the store and quickly found one of the clerks behind the counter. She flashed her badge as she stated "Detective Kate Beckett, NYPD. I need to speak to the store owner or manager."

"The owner is out of town right now but is their something I can do?" The clerk asked.

"We are investigating a crime scene in the alley way by your store and I noticed your store's camera pointed in that direction. Do you know if they were turned on last night? If they were, I am going to need a copy of the footage."

"I turned them on right before I closed up the store last night so around... 9:55. Just as soon as my last customer left. I turned it on and then realized I left something in the office so went back to get it before leaving myself."

"Could you tell us who your last customer was last night?"

"Sure, She was tall, fairly thin, late twenties, early thirties, long brown hair pulled back into a messy bun. She seemed to be in a rush to get back home, I assumed because she complained about some supplies her kid needed for school the next day. Let me go get that copy of the video for you and I will bring out a copy of the receipt as well." said the clerk and she walked quickly back toward the office.

Beckett sized up the clerk as she walked back to the office and started thinking about what could have happened to the victim. Once she was identified, she would have to make the unfortunate call to next of kin and that was never an easy thing to do.

A few minutes late the clerk came back with a DVD in a case and the receipt on top of it."Here you go. If I can be of any further assistance, please let me know. "

Kate thanked her and pulled Castle out of the candy isle and toward the door. Once outside she looked down at the slip of paper.

"The name on the receipt was from a Katarina Footelli." Beckett said as they walked out of store and headed for her vehicle. It's not much but is is something she thought. If their victim was this person, it had the makings of a very long day. She just hoped that Josh wouldn't try and continue their conversation from earlier as she didn't need any more stress. Being watched by Castle was bad enough and she knew if she showed any more tension he would prod her for more information.

XOXOXOXOXO

Kate was just pulling up the footage from the store when she saw a cup of coffee in front of her. She didn't even realize she needed a cup but welcomed the sight of it.

"Thanks, Lanie called and said it would be another few hours before she had anything for us."

Beckett turned back to her computer and slid the DVD in to pull up the camera footage from the Mom and Pop store. She felt Castle lean his head just over her shoulder and point to her screen.

"Right there. She looked right at the camera as she left the store but there is also someone else right behind her as well that the clerk never mentioned seeing. " Castle stated as he reached around her to print out a picture of both figures. While surprised, this wasn't something he hadn't done before she just accepted the action as normal.

"The video gets a little fuzzy from this point and we can't really see much beyond that corner so whatever happened to the victim wasn't caught on tape. At least we might be able to id the vic off what we were able to get though." Kate said as she typed in Katarina's name into the police database. Fortunately for her, she was able to pull up her DMV file and it matched what was seen on the video. Unfortunately, it also matched the victim.

Just than she realized that Castle was no longer looking over her shoulder but was on the phone. She didn't even hear his phone ring but couldn't help but listen in to what he was saying.

"No, I am not trying to avoid you. We caught a body so we have been at the scene all morning. Yes, I do understand that I am on a deadline and you will get what you requested. Beckett? Yes, we'll probably be working this case till late this evening and- what? No nothing is going on between us. We have gone through this before so you are just going to have to trust me. Yes, ok, I need to go as Beckett is giving me the eye. You know the look, well maybe you don't know, but trust me it is a very glaring kind of look so I really have to go. We'll talk later."

"Need a moment Castle?"

"No, I'm good so who do we have here on the tape?"

"Well, it appears that our victim is one Katarina Footelli based on the crime scene pics and her own DMV photo. We'll need positive identification from either Lanie or her family though." Beckett said while she posted the picture up on the murder board.

"Do you want me here when you call the family or should I see if the guys are back from their canvasing yet?"

"Actually I want to get more information from Lanie first before I contact her next of kin. I know they will have questions and while I may not be able to provide them with much, I want to at least be able to tell them more than what we have right now." Beckett said.

"I can see the logic in that but I do have one question. If she was leaving the store at the time of her murder, what happened to her purse or the goods she bought? It wasn't with the body and at least from what I could tell, wasn't anywhere around the scene."

"I thought the very same thing just a few minutes ago and still have not been able to answer that in a way that would make sense. If it was a robbery, they would have taken the cash found in her pocket and the jewelry she was wearing. No this was something of a more personal nature and there is definitely a story involved."

"Why Detective, I think I am starting to rub off on you. Should I be flattered or scared that you've picked up on my usual line of thinking?"

"Both. Don't get me wrong, the evidence will speak for itself in this case but knowing the full story will allow us to give the victim's family some needed closure." Kate said as she looked Castle in the eye and held his gaze a split second longer than necessary.

She felt him brushed his hand lightly against hers just as her phone started to ring. She reached out picked it up "Beckett. Yeah Lanie, we will be right down. "

Kate looked over at Castle and noticed his hand was barely touching hers still but in such a casual way that a passerby would never notice. She did though and now it was all she could focus on. She gave Castle an inquisitive look before she stood to head down to the morgue.

She couldn't help but feel something was brewing between her and Castle that really should not be allowed to develop. They were both in relationships, however complicated, and had missed their chance for anything to happen, hadn't they?

_**A/N **_**- **_**I need to thank Xonze for being my beta for this story. Through his input and editing, it is a much stronger chapter. Please enjoy the story. **_


	2. Chapter 2

_Disclaimer:__All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended._

Beckett hit end on her cell. Lanie had the preliminary results back from the lab and they needed to see her before she could inform the next of kin. She stood and looked over at Castle. He seemed to be lost in his head. She was sure it had something to do with the phone call, but prodding wasn't something she would do. It was none of her business, but she still wished she could help in someway. She pushed that feeling away and moved so that she was right in front of him.

"You coming?" Kate asked but didn't wait for a response, instead she continued around him and toward the elevator.

"Yeah." His voice was soft, and if she hadn't been listening she probably would of missed it.

He caught up with her at the elevator after she pushed the button and came to stand beside her. A little close, but she would let it slide because she couldn't say she minded all that much. She felt Castle's hand brush against her hand and she couldn't stop the smile from coming across her face. She turned her head to look him in the eye and found an emotion that she couldn't quite place, yet knew she had seen before. It disappeared after a moment and smiled at her.

"So any plans with motorcycle boy tonight?"

"It's motorcycle man, Castle and no, I don't think so. We have this case now so I will be rather occupied. What about you? " Kate said not wanting to talk too much more about it. Things weren't perfect with Josh, and that was her business, plus if she gave any hint of a problem she knew he'd start poking. It's just what he did.

"Yep, I have a date..." Kate couldn't stop the catch in her breath when she heard him say date and paused even though she knew he was still in a relationship. She caught herself letting it out slowly when he continued. "... with Nikki Heat. My publisher is demanding the next chapter so I really need to get some writing done."

"She's just your publisher now? Trouble in paradise?" Kate asked with her eyebrows raised. She had heard the rumors of a previous dispute between them but decided it was best to let him bring it up.

"You could say that and I wouldn't call it paradise. Far from it, my own private hell maybe. Anyway, it will all be over soon once we get the chance to talk again. "

"Over?" He didn't say anything and she didn't didn't push. Just what did he mean by that? "You know if you need to go talk to her, I can handle Lanie on my own. You don't have to stay."

"No..." He paused, took a breath. "Yeah, maybe I better go talk to her. You'll tell me what Lanie had to say though, right?"

"Yeah. Go ahead. I got this. Might give Lanie and I a chance to chat anyway."

"Girl talk. I like it. Talking about anyone special?" He grinned at her and she turned away slightly, trying to hide her own smile. "No, don't tell me. I would rather just believe the talk is about how hot you think I am. " Castle said just as the elevator opened up.

"Oh yeah Castle. Like we can't find anything or anyone else to talk about but you." He looked over and grinned at her as they elevator came to a stop at the bottom floor. They both stepped out and made their way out onto the sidewalk.

"Go, get out of here and come back more focused on the case." Kate said with a small laugh as she gave him a little push with her hand. She felt Castle reach out and give her hand a squeeze before he hailed a cab.

Kate stood their and watched the cab drive away before shook her head and chuckled. She got into her own car and headed toward the morgue thinking about the much needed girl talk and what Lanie found.

XOXOXOXOXOX

"Hey Lanie. What you got for me?" Kate asked as she walked into the morgue.

"Well hello to you to girl. You seem to be a bit distracted today which I want to hear about in a few. First things first like, fingerprints confirmed that your vic is a Katarina Footelli."

Lanie reached over and grabbed the clipboard by the body. She scanned it one more time before continuing. "Tox screen came back normal so she didn't die of poisoning or drug overdose and the only visible bruising are the ones I pointed out at the crime scene."

"So you haven't found the cause of death yet?"

"Now hold on. I never said I didn't find the cause of death." She moved toward the body. "If you look carefully along her neck you will see a thin line that looks like it wraps around her entire neck now that the bruising has subsided. I looked into what could cause that kind of mark and found it was some kind of old tool used for strangulation. Definitely not something I have seen before though." Lanie stated.

"Okay, if I find the tool used to make these marks, could you tie it to the body?"

"Maybe. I can probably match the type, but I really doubt I can see that particular tool did it."

"Thanks Lanie." Kate said but hesitated before saying anything else. She settled for sitting on an empty table.

"What's on your mind and come to think of it where's your shadow? I thought he was coming down with you."

Kate shrugged. "I told him to take off. He had to go take care of something but said he'd be back later."

"Take care of something or someone? I saw the look he was giving you at the crime scene and definitely felt a vibe coming off both of you. I also know what I have read in the paper lately about our resident writer."

"I didn't ask. Besides, it's really none of my business. He said he would be back later is all and I thought I would use this time to chat. Speaking of which, what's up with you and Esposito? I saw the same vibe coming from the both of you. " Kate said as she decided to put the focus back on Lanie.

"I don't know what you're talking about. Anyway, what's with you and Josh? You haven't mentioned him much lately."

The mention of Josh's name made Kate's eyes drop slightly and a frustrated look crossed her face.

"Josh and I are... well, I don't know what we are exactly to tell the truth. I think that is the problem right now. We had yet another fight on the phone just before heading to the crime scene and I left him with a choice to either trust me or not. "

"Oh honey... Trust you on what exactly? You need to fill me in on what you are talking about as it obviously has you in a tizzy right now."

"I am not in a tizzy and who uses that word anyway?" Kate huffed. "Josh questioned my relationship with Castle and I told he has to make the choice to trust me. We are not together as we are both with other people right now."

"Oh please girl. We both know that just because you are two are dating other people doesn't mean anything. You two have a connection with each other everyone around you can see and I know you both feel. I get that you would never cheat on your boy but I also suspect the those feelings you have for Castle have never completely gone away. In fact, I would venture to say they are getting stronger no matter how hard you fight against it. Am I getting close to what is really on your mind?"

"Maybe."

"Looks like Josh isn't the only one with a choice to make. I'm willing to bet that Castle has made his own while he was out taking care of business. The question is Kate, what choice are you going to make?"

"I don't know Lanie. Josh is a nice guy but there is something missing. I know it and he knows it. I know he trusts me but if I am honest I'm not so sure I trust myself. " Kate said quietly thinking back to the small touches by Castle.

"Maybe what's missing is that he doesn't make you feel alive. He doesn't keep you on your toes. Know anyone who might fit that description?"

Kate had to smile at this statement by Lanie. She looked at her phone noticing a text from Castle saying he was on his way back. A faint smile crossed her face but quickly went away. Not wanting to have him meet her in the morgue, she sent a text back telling him to meet her at her desk. She looked up to Lanie looking at her with a knowing smile.

Kate shook her head and responded. "Yeah, I think I do. I should be getting back. Castle is on his way and I just told him I would meet him back in the bullpen."

"Sure. I'll let you know if anything else comes up."

Kate looked back at Lanie with a slight wave headed out of the morgue.

XOXOXOXOXOX

Kate had just got back to her desk when she looked up to see Castle getting off the elevator, 2 coffees in hand. She took a moment to study his face as he walked her direction. She noticed his eyes were a little downcast but the spring in his step was back. A contradiction in terms. She turned her head and gave him a slight smile when she met his eyes.

"Everything taken care of now I hope?" Kate asked.

"Yep. I'm touched you care."

"Oh, you thought I cared, I'm sorry." She said placing a hand to her chest and smirked. "I just wanted your focus back as this case just got a little more interesting." She kept a careful eye on her partner

"You wound me, Detective." Kate heard him give a slight chuckle before he continued "Speaking of the case, what did you find out from Lanie?"

"Well, we definitely know our fingerprints matched those of a Katarina Footelli like we suspected. What is interesting is the cause of death. She was killed by some old strangulation device. If we can find the tool that was used in the strangulation, Lanie might be able to tie it to the body."

"Tool? Interesting, very, very interesting. Wonder if she was a top CIA agent targeted for termination? " Castle theorized.

"Oh please Castle, why does everything have to come down to the CIA with you?"

"Remember what I said? Law of averages demands I will eventually be right so not going to stop now."

"Your insights are never boring Castle." Kate said as she chuckled but then turned serious. "First though we need to inform her next of Kin. Let's hope the family can give us some insight into her background. "

"If she has a child like we suspect, this will not be an easy visit You are the best one to make it though. I mean that, really. "

"It never is, but the sooner we visit Mr. Footelli, the faster we can solve this case and maybe start to get some answers." Kate said as she picked up her coat with the husband's work address in hand. She had already called him to be sure he would be at his work place when they arrived. "Let's go."

_Need to thank my wonderful beta, Xonze, for working with me on this chapter. Xonze definitely helped me fine tune some parts and make it better. Hope you enjoy the chapter._

.


	3. Chapter 3

_A/N: __Need to thank jessrosenbooks and rkcaskett for the beta on this chapter. With my normal beta reader sick, they both stepped in to help me get this chapter posted. Any mistakes are mine alone. Hope you enjoy the chapter. _

As they walked out of the precinct, Kate looked at the address one more time and noticed it was just a few blocks down. She thought to herself, why waste the gas or aggravation with traffic when we can just walk it.

"Castle, we are not that far from where he works. Why don't we walk?" Kate asked tentatively.

"Sure, but we usually drive so why the change?"

"Just keeping you on your toes and some exercise will do you some good if you want to continue to keep up with me." Kate quipped.

"Oh I don't think keeping up with you will be a problem. I've kept up with you before and look forward to keeping up with you in the future. As your partner of course," Castle said with a genuine smile on his face.

Kate smiled and started to think about the case. It was definitely a weird one and she hoped this conversation with the vic's husband would shed some light on the victim's activities. Right now they didn't have much to go on. They walked in silence, each in their own thoughts, until they reached the building.

She hesitated for a brief moment as these conversations were always difficult, but she knew the moment they became easy would be the moment it would be time to walk away. She hoped that would never happen. Castle opened the door to the building for them and in doing so brushed his other hand against her lower back as she walked by him. In an odd sort of way, this gave Kate the support she needed but would never admit.

They walked up to the front desk just as Mr. Footelli walked out into the reception area.

"Mr. Footelli, I presume? Detective Kate Beckett, NYPD, we spoke on the phone earlier. Is there some place we can talk in private?"

"Yes of course. Please come to my office." He replied and escorted them toward a small office down the hall.

"I'm afraid I have some bad news for you. We found your wife murdered in an alley way a few blocks from your apartment," Kate started as they sat down in the chairs in front of his desk.

"What? No, that can't be right. Katarina told me she was going to run out get, some school supplies our daughter needed for some upcoming project and that she would be right back. I guess I fell asleep and when I got up this morning to go to work, I assumed she had already left herself."

"I would think you would have had at least tried to call her this morning when you woke up if you last saw her last night. At the very least, notice that she never made it to bed with you," Castle interjected.

"It wasn't uncommon to have Katarina go do errands, come home and fall asleep on the couch while she worked on something. She usually was up and out of the apartment before I would even wake up in the morning, so I had no reason to suspect anything was wrong."

"Mr. Footelli, what did your wife do for work?" Kate asked.

"She was an analyst of some sort for a company here in town. She didn't talk much about her work though and I didn't want to pry. I just know that it had her working at all hours at times. I just tried to be as supportive as I could when she was home."

"What was the name of the company she worked for? Castle asked.

"I didn't say but I believe it something like Desideratum Ventures. I can give you her business card if you would like. I carried one in my wallet in case I ever needed to call her," He said as he handed over the card. "I guess I don't need it now."

"What did your wife do in your free time? Did she have any enemies or have any recent fights with anyone that you know?" Kate pushed further.

"She liked to work out at the gym to keep in shape. I know once a week she would meet up with some people to spar with as she said it kept her sharp. As far as I knew, she got along with everyone. She is, I mean was, a little headstrong but living in this city, you kind of have to be you know," Mr. Footelli said with a misty look in his eyes.

"You mentioned you had a daughter. How old is she and where is she now?" Castle asked, thinking about his own daughter.

"She's a Senior in High school and should be in the middle of classes about now. She mentioned to me this morning that she never got the supplies Katarina was supposed to pick up for her but that she needed to get to school and would get it when she got home." He paused before he looked up at them in a panic "I have to go to her. I have to be the one to tell her about her mom. She was always so close to her mom so this is going to crush her. Are we done here?"

"Yes, we are done for now, but I am going to need the name of her gym. We'll be in touch if we have any further questions," Kate said as she and Castle started to stand up.

"The receptionist should be able to give you any information you need." He hesitated for a moment. "Just please find who murdered my wife," he said

"I will do everything I can. I've been in your shoes and I know how hard it is right now. We'll be in touch."

Beckett and Castle left the building and headed back toward the precinct. They were going to have to rule out the husband as a suspect but she hoped for the daughter's sake that he alibied out. Something was nagging her about this case already but she couldn't quite put her finger on it. Maybe between Castle's crazy theories and finding some actual evidence something was bound to shake out.

XOXOXOXOX

Walking back toward the precinct, Kate turned her head when she heard Castle start to speak.

"How can a husband not notice their wife not coming from the store? I mean I get falling asleep but not even noticing the next morning seems odd to me. If it were me, I would have at least tried to call my wife's cell, txt'd her or at the very least tweeted her to make sure she was ok. "

"Yeah, well Castle, not everyone is as attentive as you. Some people just trust the people they are with enough not to ask too many questions or push too hard. I do agree though that it is strange and needs to be checked into though," Kate said.

"Hey now, what is wrong with being attentive with the people I care about? I bring you coffee every day don't I? Besides, it has nothing to do with trust only that sometimes people need to be pushed a little, for their own good of course."

"I never said there was anything wrong with being attentive per se, but when it turns into being more intrusive, it becomes a problem. It could have even lead to murder if it happened enough times. Sometimes people need to learn to back the hell off when requested or not assume things are happening when nothing is going on," Kate said rather quickly.

"I know right. You do know what happened when people assume something right?" Castle asked.

"Of course, you make an ass out of you and me. Something I am very familiar with at this point and oh so tired of hearing," Kate said and shook her head before stopping about a block from the precinct before she asked the next obvious question. "Why do I get the feeling that neither one of us are still talking about the case anymore."

"Probably because we aren't, if you want the truth. From what I overheard from your conversation with Josh earlier and my conversations with Gina, doesn't sound like either of us has had a great day. You add in a little thing like a murder and the rest of it is spoiled."

"No one ever said murder was fun Castle," Kate quipped.

"Never said it was but look, we are both on edge today for some reason. How about we take a break? Get some much needed coffee in both our systems."

Kate felt him grab her hand and lead her to a small coffee shop across from the precinct. They had frequented the place before and could use a break to mull over the information gathered from the husband. Grabbing her hand was new though and she didn't know what to think of it yet.

The found a small table in the corner of the store after they ordered some coffee. Castle insisted on paying and seemed unaffected by the look she gave him which bugged her some. Even the boys shied away from her looks but not him, he seemed to welcome them.

She looked down at her coffee cup before looking into his eyes and asked the question she had been wondering since they met up after her trip to the morgue.

"What happened anyway with you and Gina? I don't want to pry but you did mention sometimes people should be pushed a little." Kate asked

"I walked right in to that didn't I? It's ok though as I have nothing to hide. The long and short of it is that I ended it with Gina before I met back up with you at the precinct. It just wasn't working anymore and we both knew it. We didn't feel the same way about each other and we both knew it. I will concede though that some of her assumptions weren't totally wrong."

"And what assumptions was she making?" Kate inquired

"You sure you want to know?"

"I wouldn't have asked if I didn't, Castle. I'm always interested in the truth, just something I picked up from my mom I guess."

"OK …well, um, she kept assuming that even though I was with her, she would always play second fiddle to someone else and I am not talking about Alexis or mother," Castle said softly as he stared into his cup of coffee, a little unsure of himself, before looking back up again.

"And just who were you referring to Rick?" Kate asked looking directly into his eyes trying to read the emotions now flashing across his face.

"You."

Kate about spit out her coffee when she heard his response. Sure she felt a connection between them but she was never sure how deep it really went. She needed to press further though.

"Me? I can't be that interesting and you have quite a history with her. Why did you go back with her knowing she would always be second in your heart? I thought you were the one that said the heart wants what the heart wants." Kate said.

"None more interesting than you and yes, I did say that once. But we also know that life doesn't always work out the way we plan it now does it? I mean, sometimes you have to sacrifice your own happiness for the sake of the other people involved."

Kate took a minute to absorb what he was not telling her very loudly. Instead of addressing the obvious elephant in the room, she decided to steer the conversation in a slightly different direction.

"Sometimes you have to go after what you want and stop playing games." She hesitated before adding, "If you know what you want that is; no matter what obstacles may be thrown in the way."

She reached out and touched his hand briefly.

"No matter what though, you need to know I will always have your back," Kate said with her eyebrows raised and a small smile on her face.

"We are partners after all," Castle added.

"Always," Kate said with more conviction and a smile on her face. She wasn't stupid. She knew they were referring to being much more than partners at work but for now they had a murder to solve and that was enough.

"Now, tell me why an analyst would need self defense training and be called in to work at odd hours?" Kate asked bringing the focus back to the case.

Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended

"Hmm," Kate heard Castle mumble. Kate noticed the look on his face and knew he was probably coming up with a crazy theory for the case. She welcomed the brevity of it this time as the case was getting no where fast.

"What?" Kate inquired as she watched Castle speak into his IPhone.

"Targeting Analyst".

Kate had just ran a background check on the husband and they were waiting for a few more details to come back from it.

"Castle, what exactly are you doing?"

"I was curious what exactly a Targeting Analyst does so I thought I would look it up. It says here that a Targeting Analyst uses network analysis techniques and specialized analytical tools to identify and detail key figures and organizations who may pose a threat to US interests."

"Where did you get that job description?" Kate asked with her eyebrow raised suspiciously.

"Directly off the CIA's website of course. Where else would I find it?"

"Really? You're going back to your CIA theory? What's the matter? Running out of ideas so you had to fall back one already given?" She smirked at him and added just to tease, "and you call yourself a writer."

"Ok, smartass, I'd like to see you come up with something better or do you think you can't rise to meet the challenge."

"Oh, Castle. I can and will rise to any challenge you throw at me, any time, anywhere." Kate moved closer to him and looked him directly in the eye with a smirk on her face.

"We know that no id or personal affects were found with the body which could mean a robbery gone wrong. At the same time, her wedding ring was left on her finger which you would think would have been taken if money was purely the objective. The defensive bruising suggest she put up a fight which brings us back to the question of why an analyst would need self defense training and being called out to work at odd hours. Their has to be a connection somewhere."

"The self defense training I kind of understand considering we do live in New York City. It's not exactly the safest place to live so she may have taken a class at the gym where she works out." Castle said.

"Maybe but that doesn't explain the leaving at all hours or the fact that the husband didn't notice her missing the following morning. I'm not convinced he had anything to do with this murder though. " Kate said as she shook her head in frustration. This case was getting no where fast and could only hope that something popped in the vics background.

"Going back to the self defense idea for a moment, was thinking it might be a good idea for Alexis to learn some stuff and I thought maybe you could teach her? I've been told you are a great sparring partner... maybe you can teach me some moves as well?" Castle asked.

Kate looked at him for a brief second to see if he was serious, not about Alexis learning but about himself learning. She couldn't help but think back to the rather intense sparring session she had with Demming but instead of seeing him, she pictured Castle instead. It caused an involuntary shudder to run down her spine. She needed to put these thoughts out of her head because she had a boyfriend. She couldn't dismiss the fact though that her thoughts often ran to Castle instead of him which even she would admit meant something. Something had to change soon and it would have to be her to make the move.

Giving herself a mental shake to get herself focused back on what was around her, she heard Esposito walk toward her desk.

"Yo Beckett. Struck out when canvassing the area. No one heard or saw a thing that night."

"Okay. Thanks. Why don't you and Ryan check into the vics financials while Castle and I head to the gym. Something tells me we may find more of the story where she works out."

"On it." Esposito said.

Castle had been looking at the murder board during the conversation and seemed to be little more focused than usual.

"I know that look."

"What look?" He turned around and cocked an eyebrow at her.

"That 'something doesn't add up' look. What's running through your head?"

"Well, looking at the crime scene photos I remembered that her purse was taken at some point during the course of the murder. Which got me thinking about what could be in that purse, mainly what could still be left in it, like a cell phone. Her husband never mentioned her having one but she had to have one."

"But if her cell phone was left on, we could track its location." Kate said finishing Castle's thought. She turned around and found Ryan and Esposito at their desks. "Ryan, track down Katarina's cell number and put a trace on it. Let me know if something pops."

"Got it boss." Ryan replied.

"Come on Castle, let's see what we can dig up at that gym of hers."

Kate and Castle just started toward the elevators when she heard him mumble "Castle does it again." with a huge grin on his face. Kate couldn't help but smile herself and think back to their earlier conversation before the guys interrupted.

They were standing in front of the elevator waiting for the doors to open when Kate felt a hand brush against her own. She let out a frustrated sigh just as the doors opened and they stepped inside.

"I felt that you know."

"Felt what?" Castle said innocently

"Your hand as it ever so casually touched mine just before we stepped in here."

"I don't know what you're talking about. My hand must have a mind of its own and felt lonely. Who am I to stop what it wants to do?" Castle quipped.

Kate couldn't help but chuckle and she stepped closer to him but still within the realm of their normal distance. She pulled out her phone to check the address of the gym, slid it back into her pocket and let her mind rest, if only for a moment.

"Ryan got the cell number for our vic from the husband so a trace is running on it now. We need to check out this gym she worked out in and see if any of the regulars knew anything more about her life." Kate said as they walked toward her car.

"Did we ever clear the husband as a possible suspect?" Castle asked almost as an afterthought.

"Yeah, his background came back clean. He wasn't exactly husband of the year but it appeared that their relationship worked for them."

"What about her work? I can't shake the feeling that something connected to her work is involved. It would make for a better story to have some evil villain stalk our victim in order to prevent her from passing on some top secret information she uncovered through her work."

"I will never admit this in front of the guys but I think you are right. Although not about the evil villain thing. Let's see if anyone at the gym can tell us more." Kate said as they parked about a block away from the gym.

Getting out of the car, Kate walked around to join Castle on the sidewalk. This time when his hand casually reached out to brush her own, she gave in and let him hold it. Rationally it was two friends holding hands for warmth on a cold day as they walked toward the gym but her heart told her it was so much more. They walked into the gym and quickly found the manager on duty.

"Detective Kate Beckett, NYPD. Do you have a moment to answer a few questions about a lady that was a member here? Her name was Katarina Footelli and her husband told us she worked out here on a regular basis."

"Sure, although I'm not sure I can tell you much." The manager said but then pointed to a group of guys on the free weights. "That group could probably tell you more than I could as they worked out with her every day."

"So, she was here often. Did she ever come with anyone else?" Castle asked.

"Nope, always came in on her own and nearly always worked out with that group. It didn't seem to bother her that she was the only female of the group which I found intriguing. Most females like to work out with their own kind, you know?"

"She doesn't appear to be like most females."

"Sounds like someone else I know." Kate heard Castle mumble softly. She rolled her eyes at him and continued.

"Did you ever notice them sparring with each other or were they mainly focused on the weights?" Kate asked

"Oh they definitely sparred with each other in the ring set up over in that corner. It was fun to watch the guys get their ass kicked by her day in and day out but like I said that group could tell you more than I could."

"Thanks. One more question, when was the last time you saw her?"

"She was here around this time yesterday with the same group of guys. Look, if we're done here I need to go handle an issue with one of our customers." The manager said as he started to walk off in the direction of the problem.

Kate turned to Castle as they both watched the group of guys working out.

"That makes no sense. If she was able to beat those guys sparring, and they are not exactly what you would call small, how could she have been overpowered so easily." Kate murmured.

"It has to go back to whatever tool was used to strangle her. It would have had to been quick otherwise she would have been able to overpower her attacker." Castle said.

"Come on. Let's see what these guys have to say about being beat by a girl on a regular basis. Maybe she crossed a line one too many times and one of them retaliated. Just follow my lead."

"Would follow you anywhere, Detective."

Kate turned her head and let a small smile briefly cross her face.

She walked up to the guys working out and cleared her throat. The larger one of the group stopped what he was doing and let his eyes travel up and down her body checking her out. Kate felt Castle take a small step closer to her but said nothing.

"Can I help you or do you just want to admire this body of mine?" He asked and flexed his arms before striking a quick pose.

"Oh, you can help me alright, Detective Kate Beckett. I have some questions about your workout partner, Katarina Footelli." Kate showed her badge and added, "as far as your body goes, I've seen better."

She heard laughter coming from the other guys around him as they stepped forward. Almost like Kate had earned some respect in their eyes.

"What can you tell me about her? The manager said she was a workout partner of yours." Kate said.

"Yeah, she worked out with us nearly every day unless something with her family came up. She would text one of us if she couldn't make it. She was supposed to be here today but never showed up which is odd because I never got anything saying she wouldn't be here."

"She was found murdered this morning in an alleyway. How did you meet her? If you don't mind me saying, you all don't seem to be the group a women with a family would workout with or know really." Castle said before Kate could ask the question herself.

"Wow. She's really dead huh? Sad but it doesn't surprise me really, knowing her line of work."

"And just what kind of work was that exactly?" Kate asked.

"Well, to answer your partner's question first. We were in a similar line of work but not the same department exactly. We all met during training and just stuck together throughout our various assignments. She was the brains of the group but could hold her own in a fight."

"And again, what kind of work was that Mr... ?"

"Just call me Brent."

"Ok, Brent. What kind of work was Katarina involved in exactly?" Kate asked again.

"She was an analyst for a government agency. It was supposed to be a relatively safe position as she just researched and identified various groups of possible threats. The leg work was left up to people in my line of work."

"So why did she continue to train with you all if she was never in any danger?" Castle asked.

"She was a strong lady who believed in being prepared for anything. Working out with us kept her skills sharp and honestly, I think she got a thrill out of kicking our asses on a daily basis." Brent said with a slight chuckle.

"Do you know why she would be called out to her job at all hours of the night?"

"Working for the government or any agency for that matter, meant long hours and no set schedule for anyone. We could never predict when something would happen and she would be needed to be on site. Something you, as an NYPD Detective, can relate to I'm sure." Brent said.

"You sound like you knew her fairly well. Do you know why she never talked about her job to her husband or daughter?"

"She was like a sister to all of us. She didn't talk about her job to her family because they wouldn't understand her line of work or why she continued with it despite all the obstacles. I met her husband a few times and he seemed to accept her as she was and supported her however she needed." Brent said with a far away look in his eye.

"Did she mentioned anything she was working on recently that could have caused her some concern?" Kate asked.

"We didn't talk much about work, especially in such an open place, but she did mention she ran across a bit of information which rattled her some the last time she worked out with us. I offered to help her, even asked if she wanted me to take a look, but she said she would talk to her superiors about it."

"Do you happen to have the contact information for her work?" Castle asked.

Brent walked over to a locker where he kept his bag, unlocked it and pulled out a card and handed it to them.

"Call this number when you get back to your precinct. They should be able to at least shed some light on what she was working on and give you more information." Brent paused but then looked Kate straight in the eye. "Katarina may have been a tough lady but she was a sister to all of us and we all care about her deeply. I hope you can use the information I told you to find her killer."

"I'm sure we can Brent. You've been very helpful. We'll be in touch if we have any more questions for you and your friends. " Kate said and handed her card to him. "If you can think of anything else though, please don't hesitate to call."

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

As they left the gym, Kate reached out and laced her fingers with his without even thinking about what she was doing. When they reached the car, she let go of his hand while he climbed in and sat down.

"You know I have to say the similarities between our victim and yourself are striking. Both of you appear to the outside as strong willed, tough as they come ladies in male dominated professions that could kick anyone's ass if the situation warranted. She seemed to have a tight group of people to rally around her much like you do except she had her husband to lean on when she needed extra support, even if he didn't know much. Which leaves the question, who do you turn to when things get too tough, even for you?"

Kate stared at the road ahead of her instead of turning to look at Castle while she contemplated her answer. If she was honest with herself and really looked at the time she spent with Castle versus Josh, she knew her answer. It was something Kate knew would have to be addressed sooner rather than later. She parked her car in front of the precinct but before Castle opened his door, she grabbed his arm gently. He looked back, their eyes locked and he pulled the door closed slightly, a questioning look on his face.

"Who do you think I turn to when times get tough? You're smart Castle. You should be able to answer that without my help just by looking at our past history." She said softly. She looked into his eyes for a moment longer before getting out of her car and started toward the precinct. She felt him grab her arm just before she reached the door.

"You can't just leave it like that, Kate."

"I just did Castle. For now, we have some work to get done."

"What about tonight then? I'm intrigued by what is running through that head of yours."

"You have a date with Nikki Heat tonight, I seem to remember you telling me." Kate said as she heard her phone chirp, alerting her a text had come through. She glanced at her phone, noting it was from Josh saying he was off shift after all. "And that was Josh telling me he is off shift after all tonight so it appears we both have plans."

"I see. Hope you and Josh have has much fun as I will with Nikki Heat. Wait that sounded worse than I meant it." Castle said as Kate could see just a hint of hurt flash across his face.

"Let's just say tonight will not be a dull night but may not turn out the way anyone planned at the start. Now let's go see if Katarina's superiors can shed some light on what she was working on before her death."

_**A/N: Need to thank Xonze, my beta reader, for editing this chapter for me and for rkcaskett for reading it over for me. I hope you liked this chapter and appreciate all the reviews. **_


	5. Chapter 5

_**A/N:**__ Need to thank Xonze for editing this story and rkcaskett for being my sounding board at times. Also a shout out to the castletv chat room for answering my odd ball questions._

_Sorry for the later than usual update but a second round of shoulder surgery sidelined me. I also didn't want to rush this chapter. Hope you enjoy it and feel free to leave a review. _

Kate and Castle walked into the bullpen to see Esposito and Ryan hovered around Ryan's computer.

"What's up guys? Setting up your fantasy football rosters?" Kate asked.

"Nah, football season is over, haven't you noticed Beckett? It's time to get our rosters ready for baseball season now. Care to join in? " Ryan teased.

"I'll pass. Some of us work for a living and I wouldn't want to put you all to shame. Speaking of something you should be doing, any hits on the vic's cell yet?" Kate asked turning more serious.

"Uh, as a matter of fact, we just got a hit on it. Looks to be a few blocks away from where our body was found." Ryan said.

"Well, what are you waiting for? Go get me a suspect. " Kate said in exasperation.

"We thought you would want to do it since you usually want in on this stuff." Ryan stammered.

"Not this time, guys. I need to make a call to our vic's boss and see if they can tell me any more information on what she was working on before her death. It's connected to her death, I'm sure of it."

Ryan looked at Castle and asked, "You want in on this bro?"

"I'll pass on this, I want to stick around and see if Beckett finds out anything. Besides, she tends to get cranky without her caffeine and it looks like she is due for another cup."

"Whatever bro, your loss." Esposito said as a knowing smirk crossed his face as he walked toward the elevators. A fact that Kate didn't miss as she watched part of her team leave.

Kate glared at Castle as he quickly walked toward the break room and heard him say, "You said you needed some coffee right? I'll get right on that for you." before she let a small smile cross her face. He was right about the caffeine and it would give her a minute to mull over the upcoming conversation.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO

Kate picked up her phone and dialed Desideratum Ventures's main and what it appeared only line. Odd considering how big of a business it was and how many people worked for them. She knew it was just a cover for whatever they did but she also knew it was often best to leave certain questions unasked.

"Yes, this is Detective Kate Beckett, I need to speak to Katarina Footelli's direct supervisor please." Kate stated as she looked up and could literally smell the coffee that had just arrived at her desk. She looked up at Castle, put her hand on his arm and squeezed lightly as a way of saying thanks.

The phone call ended up being more brief than she expected as the supervisor wasn't exactly very forthcoming with information. She was able to get him to send over a file with her recent case load, provided it be kept in confidence within her team. Kate assured him that it would not leak out as they have worked with sensitive information in the past. She was on Agent Westfield's friends and family plan after all.

"Anything enlightening from her employer? An employee who just couldn't take the guilt and spilled the beans to him would be a nice start."

"No, I got nothing." Kate said with a frustrated sigh.

"We just need some piece of evidence. Something to give us a clue as to who killed her and more importantly, what tool was used. It just makes no sense." Castle said.

"Yeah, well, maybe the boys will bring in someone who will give us a break in this case because right now all we have is speculation and no solid evidence for anything. "

Kate felt Castle casually touch her arm in what she hoped was seen as a simple friendly show of support. Nothing was going on between them but she didn't want the entire precinct to think otherwise. It was bad enough with her previous boyfriend who she let her softer side show through some making, at least to herself, seem weak. With Josh, he had shown up twice now uninvited as she usually met him outside of work.

She allowed her mind to drift momentarily to Josh and then found herself thinking of the hurt she saw on Castle's face both times. She would bet that Castle saw the same look on her face the morning after she witnessed him kiss Natalie Rhodes. She felt Castle squeeze her arm bringing her back to the present and saw the concern in his eyes.

"You okay?" Castle asked, and she looked over.

""What? Yeah, I'm fine. Just a little distracted I guess. You know, the case and everything." Kate said with a small smile.

"Yeah, and everything. Look, it's getting late and I bet you need to be going to meet up with Josh soon. Why don't you tell the guys that we can interrogate this suspect tomorrow and call it a night?" Castle suggested.

"Not a bad idea, although I'm surprised you came up with it." Kate teased and reached out her hand to cover his briefly. "Seriously though, thanks for looking out for me. Some time away from the case might do us both some good."

"I've always got your back, Kate and what a nice back it is - so you got a hot date tonight uh?" Castle smirked.

"Hot isn't quite the word I would have used to describe my date tonight. Explosive or even eruptive could be said about the plan I have for my evening." Kate said as she leaned closer to him.

"Just don't get too close or you might get burnt." Castle said as he leaned in even closer.

"Oh, I can take care of myself don't you worry about that one bit." Kate let her pointer finger graze the bottom of his chin lifting it up to slightly. "Besides, I know who could help me lick my wounds if I do crash and burn."

Kate took a moment longer to stare into Castle's eyes before she backed away. She was trying to read him, to see if there was something there that he couldn't say to her out of respect for her relationship with Josh. She just had this inkling that there was more to his feelings than just friendship. She could almost feel the deep connection, dare she admit love, for just a moment before he reigned himself in and looked away.

If she was honest with herself, she felt the same but was too scared to act on it. Maybe it was time to change that and start believing in some of the magic offered by Castle.

"Anyway, I should get out of here and you need to get some of your own writing done. Don't let Nikki and Rook get themselves into too much trouble." Kate said as she headed toward the elevator.

"Why not? It's definitely more fun to see just how much trouble they can get into and how they end up shall we say connected afterward." Castle said.

Kate chuckled at the thought and waved her hand at him as she stepped into the elevator. He planned to wait until the guys got back to the precinct before he left for the evening. It was a nice, if unnecessary, gesture considering she had already informed the guys of her plan. Just as the doors closed, she leaned back against the back wall taking in a slow breath in order to steady herself for what was to come. It was not going to be an easy night.

XOXOXOXOXOX

Beckett walked toward her desk the next morning with an air about her that sent even the most fearless person scurrying away. Her night was definitely explosive but not in the way she would have liked and she hoped Castle fared better.

As soon as she sat down at her desk she heard the familiar ding of the elevator and saw Castle come bearing gifts for her in the name of much needed coffee. Sure, she could have gotten herself some but this was their thing and was something she valued. She looked up at him as she took a sip of her coffee with a weary look in her eye. She saw no point in trying to hide anything as he would be able to see right through her with the connection they have with each other. Unfortunately it was that connection that often complicated things, especially last night.

"You're here early this morning, Castle. I didn't think you got up before the sun unless a body dropped."

"Now you know that isn't true, Detective. I always get up if I think it will be worth my while, especially if you're involved." Castle flirted.

Kate shook her head and had to smile. In her head she completed the thought for him of it sounding more dirty than intended but chose not to voice the comment. She still felt the effects from last night's thing with Josh but found herself relaxing more now that Castle was here.

"And just who said I was involved in anything this morning? I just sat down so not much has happened yet." Kate said with her eyebrows raised.

"That is where you are wrong. I don't recall ever saying anything about this morning now did I. I believed you assumed that fact when I could have been referring to the events of last night."

"Just what do you know about last night exactly?" Kate said sharper than she would have liked.

Kate felt Castle lean in a touch closer than normal and just barely touch her face with his fingertips while he looked deep in her eyes again. Almost like he was reading her and wanted to get the story behind the story.

"I know by the look in your eyes and how tense your shoulders are that you didn't get much sleep last night. The way people are staying clear of your desk in the short time I have been here tells me you have been on a war path and no one dare come close, except me of course but you knew I wouldn't let you push me away so you didn't even try." Castle said and added in a softer tone, "Thank you."

"Yeah well. Don't flatter yourself. I haven't told you anything yet." Kate said.

"Yet, being the operative word here, Kate. I won't push you though, so tell me, don't tell me, it is entirely up to you. Just know I am a good ear when I want to be. I also give kick ass massages should your body need one later. If you think you can handle the heat that is Detective." Castle teased.

"Oh, I'm sure you do and it's something I will definitely take under consideration. For now I believe we have a date in the observation room with a suspect." Kate said. "And for the record, I can handle the heat just fine if you bring the fire."

Kate noticed it took Castle a minute to respond but he eventually regained his senses and asked the next logical question.

"Observation room? I thought we usually handled most interrogations. What's changed?"

"I thought I would be nice and let the guys handle this one since they did the leg work to pick the guy up last night. " Kate stated.

"Well, aren't you turning into a softy or is it the fact that you want to finish your coffee and wonderful breakfast I brought you... uh, never-mind. Forget I mentioned it."

Kate just glared at him but chuckled some to herself while she walked toward where the guys were without even a glance over her shoulder. She knew he would be right beside her as he always seemed to know exactly what she needed at any given time.

XOXOXOXOXOXOX

Kate felt Castle catch up to her and walk a tad closer to her than what would be considered normal. Not that anyone would notice as his normal behavior would be considered abnormal on any given day anyway. As Kate reached the room, she flipped the switched so they could hear them but they could not hear any conversation that was bound to happen between Castle and herself. It was that impending conversation that had her tensed up more than anything that occurred the night before with Josh.

Kate turned to watch Esposito and Ryan lead their suspect in and make sure he understood his rights as was read to him the night before. Her guys may screw around a lot but when it came to interrogating a suspect, they were all business. She smiled as she watched Esposito change his posture to look more intimidating than he already was.

"It really is like watching actors on a stage, isn't it?" Kate heard Castle say before he continued, "This guy didn't do it by the way."

"Oh really, and you can tell this how, considering they have barely started the interrogation?" Kate challenged.

"Look at the way he's fidgeting and shifting his eyes around the room. He also just admitted that he found the cell a few feet from the body, but insists she was dead when he found it. "

"Ever consider he could be lying? Criminals tend to do that you know. " Kate said but was thinking the same thing he was at this point.

"Maybe but I don't think so. So, tell me about this explosive date you had last night? I can just picture you in a hot dress like the one you wore to the Heat Wave release party. I have to admit, Josh is one lucky guy."

"Yeah, well... He probably wouldn't have considered himself lucky last night. As far as what happened on the date, let's leave it at things went according to what I had planned but not necessarily what he wanted." Kate said as she lifted her eyes to meet his for a brief moment.

They both turned their attention back toward the interrogation in time for them to hear the guy yell out in frustration, "Look, I didn't kill the chick. She was dead when I got there but I noticed she had what looked to be a brand new Droid. Do you know what those sell for on the streets? I couldn't pass up making some quick cash. Not that I made any as you can see I still have this damn phone." The guy looked down at the table just as his hands started to shake.

As the guys took a moment to let the guy compose himself, Kate turned to Castle again.

"So how did the writing go last night?" Just as she heard Castle say, "I'm sorry about your date last night."

They both laughed for a moment and Kate motioned for him to go first, but he shook his head. "No you go first."

"I just wondered how your date with Nikki Heat went last night. I know you have a deadline coming up."

"And just how do you know that might I ask?"

"Haven't you figured out by now, Castle, that I have my ways of finding out all the details." Kate said as she inched closer to him.

"Do you now? Maybe you can share some of share some of those techniques when we aren't so exposed to prying eyes. Nikki and Rook did get themselves into a rather compromising position last night so we could compare notes."

"Somehow I don't think comparing notes is all you have in mind..." Kate teased. She wasn't sure where this was headed or where she wanted it to head but she knew this felt more right than anything last night.

"Try me and find out. I can be a perfect gentleman when prodded enough or when someone important to me needs time to figure things out."

"No funny business or at least none that I don't initiate first. Wait, that came out dirtier than I intended it to." Kate said with a smile on her face voicing what she wanted to earlier.

"Just let me know when you're ready." Castle said and then paused, turning his attention back to the suspect. "Did you notice the suspect;s hands shook? There is no way he was able to subdue our victim with all the training she seemed to possess."

"I was thinking the same thing. The way he's been shifting his eyes... it goes beyond nervousness. Almost to the point of fear. " Kate said.

"Oh he is definitely afraid of something but of what or whom is the real question. The guys are doing everything they can to break him but he is holding to his story."

"He may just need some more time to think things over now that the guys have made it clear we are on to him. We can hold him on possession of stolen property so another night in a holding cell may convince him to come clean with us." Kate said.

"We have broken suspects before together, even fearful ones, uncooperative ones."

"We do make a good team. Maybe a better team than anyone thought possible." Kate said as she tapped lightly on observation window. She leaned her head closer to his for a brief second and whispered "Patience is a virtue. One that is richly rewarded given time."

"Are we interrupting anything?" Esposito asked as they stepped out of the room.

Instead of immediately responding no to the nearly daily question, Kate decided to throw everyone off and reply "Maybe," while she walked back toward the murder board. The guys just looked at each other and shrugged their shoulders while they headed back her way.

Kate glanced over to find Castle slowly making his way back toward her, just slightly behind the guys. She caught his eye and saw him wink at her. She had to smile as who else but Castle would think to wink at a girl. Talk about old fashioned, but she did kind of like it, in a deep down, never admit kind of way.

"So, what's next?" Castle asked

"I want to know everything we can dig up about this guy. He's involved somehow I'm sure of it. They key is putting enough pieces of the puzzle together until a picture emerges." Kate stated.

"Quoting Jordan Shaw now I see. Interesting considering your past history with her."

"She gave me some good advice that I wasn't ready to hear at the time but may be now. Let's get to work. Ryan, Esposito, you take the guy's financials while Castle and I start looking through the case load that just came in from our vic's work."

"You got it." They both replied.

Kate turned her monitor slightly so both herself and Castle could get a look at the files that were just sent over. Getting wrapped up in what she was reading, the next thing she heard was

"Now that's interesting..."

_Disclaimer:__All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended._


	6. Chapter 6

_**A/N: Normal disclaimers apply to this chapter. Need to thank Xonze for being my beta on this story. Also need to acknowledge Castletv chat room for continuing to encourage me and answer my random questions. Real life tends to get in the way at times with kids and rehab of various joint issues but I try and get these chapters as soon as I can. Enjoy and review if you would like. **_

"Interesting how?" Kate inquired as she turned her head to look at him.

"What does the French Resistance have to do with our victim? This file keeps mentioning it in relation to World War II, almost like she was investigating something but it never states what exactly."

"What would that have to do with present day New York City? I don't see the connection." Kate pondered.

"Maybe she was looking into an old war crime and was about to uncover some old Nazi cover up that had never been told before!"

"Or maybe she was using company time to do some personal research and her boss thought the write up was part of an actual case file." Kate suggested.

"No I like my criminal with a war story better."

"Like your theory all you want, mine is less convoluted and contrived." Kate stated with a smile on her face like she'd been through this with him before.

"Still doesn't answer the question about the connection, if there is any, to the case. I can't shake the feeling that this has something to do with it, just not sure what. I'm determined to find out though."

"You never give up do you. Would that be what makes you Extraordinary?" Kate said with her eyebrow raised and a smirk on her face.

"Not when it matters the most. One of the many things I have learned from you over the years. I'm touched you called me that though, it makes me feel oh so very special."

Kate laughed at his bravado but for once didn't come back with anything. Instead she leaned in close to his ear and said "There are so many ways I could make you feel special Castle. Touching is just one of the ways."

She leaned back just enough to look him in eye and catch his intense expression on his face. Kate held his gaze.

"You are such a tease."

"Just keeping you on your toes, Castle. Oh, and it is only teasing if one doesn't follow through."

"Oh really. I would think Josh would have something to say about that, so I'll assume you're just messing with me right now."

"Castle, do I need to remind you what happens when you assume things? You know me so would I really say something I don't mean if its important to me? Try me sometime." Kate said softly almost daring him to figure out what she wasn't going to come out and say directly.

"No, no you wouldn't. I'll take that under advisement though Detective. Now how about we take a break and find out if the guys came back with anything from our suspect in holding. Later we can do more "personal" research of our own. I'm talking about the French Resistance of course."

"Yeah, sure you are, but that's a good idea. I want to know more about this guy before we take another crack at him. He's not being honest with us and I intend to find out exactly what he is hiding." Kate stood and walked to where the guys were working.

"That's my girl" Kate heard Castle mumble when he got up to joint her.

Kate definitely wasn't his girl yet but she couldn't fault him for saying it. In all reality she wasn't anyone's girl per se but she was open to possibilities.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO

"Find anything interesting on our suspect?" Kate asked

"Nothing yet. He has a laundry list of misdemeanor's and a closed juvie record but nothing to suggest he was capable of murder." Ryan stated.

"Anyone is capable of murder if pushed hard should know that by now, bro."

"Really, so you would be pushed to kill if given the right circumstance? I don't buy it. It takes a special breed of human to hurt someone and you're not that special."

"Shut up bro and for the record, I would kill to protect your ass." Espositio shot back.

"I'm sorry, do you guys mind if we finish dealing with the suspects background, so we can get him out of holding?" Kate said.

"What about who the suspect was associated with, now or back in his juvie days? It's possible he was working with the person who actually killed our victim but is either too loyal or too scared to say anything." Castle suggested.

"Because we know our suspect didn't kill our victim based on how shaky his hands were during the interrogation." Kate added before she continued "Where did we say this guy worked? Maybe his employer or coworkers can shed some light."

All three of them looked at Ryan as he pulled it up on his computer and hit print. Kate grabbed it from the printer and turned back to the boys "Come on Castle, road-trip."

"You guys see if you can dig up anything else on this guy. I want to be able to interrogate this guy and have a connection to our victim before we leave tonight. Oh, and I'm not staying late so get on it." She ordered while she headed toward the elevators.

"What Beckett, got another hot date tonight?" Esposito quipped

"What's it to you, Espositio? Maybe I'm looking out for the interests of my best friend." Kate said knowing how he would take it. She also knew that Lanie wasn't the only best friend she had. She looked over her shoulder to find him already back to work but with a small smile on his face.

As Kate stepped into the elevator, she found Castle standing closer to her than he normally would have dared. As the doors closed, she felt him lean in close to her ear sending shivers down her spine.

"And just what do you have planned for tonight?"

"I have some ideas if the right offer came along." Kate said softly

"Oh really, maybe I will put something on the table for you to consider."

"Just make sure what you offer up is something I won't be able to refuse." Kate teased

"Trust me. I'm thinking your place, a bottle of wine, some take out and my magic fingers starting out with a neck massage the likes that you have never felt before."

"I do and that does sound nice but only if you agree to behave yourself." Kate said

"I will if you will. Otherwise I make no promises where my fingers might wander. They do tend to have a mind of their own."

Before Kate had a chance to respond to Castle, the elevator dinged signifying they were at their location. Just as the doors opened up though, Kate couldn't resist leaning in close to his ear to tease him some more.

"I will make no such promises for myself. Now let's go interview this guy's workplace" Kate said with a smirk across her face.

XOXOXOXOXOX

They pulled up to curb beside an old worn down warehouse. On the side of it where two large garage like doors. Kate walked to the edge, peered in and saw two men working over a sheet of metal, showers of sparks sprayed the ground as the grinder worked it over. The other man did his best to stay out of the sparks while keeping the sheet still. She walked around the corner and looked place appeared small but had a office near the front of it which Kate headed for. Opening the door, she flashed her badge at the nearest office worker.

"I need to see your office manager about an employee that works here." Kate stated to the man behind the counter.

"Sure, he's on the floor working with a new employee now. Give me a second to get him."

Kate saw a rough looking guy walk up to him after a few minutes, obviously irritated from the interruption.

"Detective Kate Beckett, NYPD, I'm here to ask you about one of your employees. " Kate said as she showed a picture of the guy and continued. "When was the last time he came into work?"

"Um, yeah, I know the guy. He was a decent employee if not a little shifty at times but hey, aren't we all at times? He was last on site a few days ago and should have been here now but hasn't shown up."

"That would be because he's sitting in one of our holding cells." Castle quipped

"What's the man done now? I assume he is in some kind of trouble again with the friend's that would drop by here after shift. I tried to give the guy a second chance but he won't get a third one. I'm not that generous."

"What do you know about these friends that dropped by after work? Did you get a name and what they were up to?" Kate asked as she narrowed her eyes some.

"I don't know much, but this guy... Bobby something..." He paused, looked away and then smiled when he looked back. "Yeah, Bobby Stinelli that was it, he stopped by a few days ago and they got into a rather loud argument. I didn't want to get in on my guy's business but I watched Bobby show a picture, make some threatening gesture and then leave. My guy left shortly afterward and he wasn't too happy."

Kate turned to Castle and said, "Maybe this guy was blackmailing our suspect."

"Or the guy changed the plan and our suspect wasn't too happy about it. Either way they are both involved somehow."

"Thank you. If you can think of anything else that might be helpful on this guy or anyone else your employee dealt with, please let us know." Kate said as they started toward the door.

"Yeah, yeah. Now I got to get back to training this guy and probably start looking for a replacement employee."

"Come on Castle, I got a feeling we just got a break in our case. We may have time for that massage after all."

"Can't wait for me to touch you, Detective? I'm touched. Wait, that sounded much dirtier than expected."

Kate couldn't help but chuckle and then reached for his hand and said, "You know it."

XOXOXOXOXOXOXO

The ride back to the station was an interesting one, if not a tad quiet with side looks from both of them. Kate knew that she had just broken up with Josh the night before and should not just dive into another relationship, especially one with Castle. At the same time, even though she was scared of what it could lead to, hadn't they already been in one for a while now? They went out together to eat, met at one of their places on and off, and pushed each other like any well connected couple would do. All that was missing was the physical connection. If Castle had read between the lines, he would know where they were headed and seemed to want it as well.

"It's interesting what the guy said about second and third chances, don't you think?" Kate heard Castle ask while he had his head turned toward her.

"What, yeah. Very interesting. Everyone is entitled to one major screw up, I'll even give the person two if it wasn't completely their fault. Much past that though and it just becomes an endless sea of bad choices and wrong moves."

"Ending those bad choices can often lead to better ones if the cycle is broken."

"Possibly, or maybe the person knew the choices weren't the greatest and used them as a filler until something better came along or came back." Kate said softly as she pulled aside the precinct and parked. She grabbed his hand and squeezed it before getting out and putting her game face back in place.

They walked closer together than normal but no one who saw them dared say anything. Beckett had a reputation of someone not to be messed with and people respected, almost feared it.

They walked into the bullpen together but as Castle went to the murder board to put a new name on it, Kate went straight to Ryan's desk.

"Ryan, got a name for you. See what you can find on Bobby Stineli. He apparently showed up at our guy's work a few days ago and had a rather heated argument with him. He may be the connection we were looking for with this case. "

"Sure thing."

"Esposito, you got anything else for me before we pull this guy out of holding?"

"I wish. This guy is a deadbeat but didn't appear to have many friends. Can't say it surprises me considering how he acted during the interrogation."

"What gave you the first clue, his shaking or his incessant need to look at his hands." Castle chimed in with a smirk.

"Yeah, well, he had some friends. Namely this Bobby character you mentioned to Ryan. They did time together for petty theft. After they got out, our man tried to straighten himself out while this guy moved on to collecting more interesting artifacts. Say of more historical value." 

"Ok, so we know the connection to our suspect but how does this connect to our victim?" Kate asked as she looked directly at Ryan. He was a lot smarter than anyone gave him credit for and she wanted to give him her full attention.

"Well, here's where it gets interesting. Castle may have been on to something when he picked up on the World War II and French Resistance references. While you were chatting with Esposito, I called a buddy in Vice and found out that there have been some thefts of World War II artifacts, and not just any artifacts but specifically ones used in the intelligence community during the war."

Kate and Castle both turned to each other and stated "If we find out what was stolen, we find out our tool used to strangle our vic!" They both smiled before Kate turned back to the guys.

"Ryan, get our guy out of holding, I want to talk to him again."

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

"What am I still doing here? I've already answered all the questions the other detectives asked me yesterday. You can't hold me."

"But we can as you were in possession of stolen property. You also weren't telling us the whole story and we know there is more you left out." Kate stated.

"Look, we did some digging on you and we know your background. We know you did some time for petty theft and were trying to get your life together. We just want to know what caused you to get off track. You can help yourself here man, if you come clean. "

The guy sat back in his chair while he sized up Kate. She was used to deadbeats looking her over and often times used it to her advantage to gain their trust. They usually underestimated how tough she could be if pushed.

"What's your association with a Bobby Stinelli? Your employer told us he showed up at your work a few days ago and you didn't exactly have a good conversation with the guy."

"You went to my work? What did you do, get me fired? I needed that work."

"You kind of got yourself fired when you stole the phone and you should have thought about that before getting back involved with such unsavory people as Bobby."

"Yeah, well, I owed Bobby from the time we spent together in the joint and he came to collect."

"Tell us about it." Kate encouraged.

"Initially I was supposed to just rough this chick up some and scare her. You know, send her a message to stop poking around where she doesn't belong."

"And just what was she poking around in exactly?"

"I don't know. I know Bobby told me he had recently got involved in an operation to steal World War II artifacts so I assumed she stumbled across the theft ring. I wasn't involved in it as I could careless about history and I wanted to stay out of it but Bobby threatened to kill me if I didn't help. I didn't kill the chick though."

"Ok, so what changed?"

"Bobby showed up at my work all pissed off at the girl. He wanted me to get rid of her but I told him I don't do that stuff. He tried to convince me it was in my best interests to stop this girl by showing what it would be worth to me, cash wise but I refused. When he saw I wasn't going to give in, he walked away telling me to just stick to what I know so I did."

"So take us through what happened next." Castle said.

"Sure, that night I got off work later than planned so I headed over to where Bobby told me this chick would be. How he knew she would be out that late considering she has a kid, I don't know but I went back to the alley. When I got there she was already dead but her purse was still with her. I panicked, grabbed her stuff and ran. I knew if I didn't follow through with my part, I would be next and I would rather spend time in jail than lying dead in a dark alley. Your guys picked me up later that day and you know the rest."

"Do you know where Bobby is now or where he might be found?" Kate asked knowing the guys were on the other side listening in on the interrogation.

"I'm not sure as we really didn't have much to do with each other after we got out. Kind of took two different paths you know but I know he used to hang out at some bar in Hell's Kitchen."

"For your sake, I hope we are able to find him. Otherwise, you are on the hook for this murder. If you can think of anything else, let one of the guards know." Kate stated as she and Castle headed for the door.

Once they stepped outside the room, she let a smile cross her face. They had the connection they were looking for and it wasn't even that late. It would take time to track this Bobby character down so she thought she would follow through on a promise made earlier.

"Let's call it a night boys. We have the connection we were looking for so we have a place to start looking tomorrow."

"You don't have to ask me twice. I'm sure Jenny and I could find something to do tonight. What about you Esposito?"

"Not sure yet but I'm sure it will involve some time with Lanie and no interruptions, if you know what I mean."

Kate chuckled at the guys but noticed Castle was being surprisingly quiet until she felt his fingers lightly touch the back of her neck.

"Castle, you got anything planned? Knowing you I'm sure you got something going on with someone." Ryan asked with a smile on his face.

"You might say I have something planned but nothing I intend to share."

"Sure bro, whatever. I'm out of here. You all have a nice night."

Kate and Castle waited until the guys were gone before they turned back to each other. Kate could feel his hand more firmly brushing along the backside of her neck.

"So, meet you at your place?"


	7. Chapter 7

_**A/N: **__**A/N: Need to thank Xonze, my beta reader, for all his help and rkcaskett for being my sounding board at times for this chapter. Hope everyone enjoyed the chapter.**_

**As usual, the characters in this story belong to ABC and the brilliant Andrew Marlowe.**

As Kate and Castle walked into the elevator, she felt Castle reach over and ever so casually grab her hand. He intertwined his fingers with hers and squeezed while keeping his eyes on the inside of the elevator doors. Kate could feel the energy between them and wondered just how far the night would lead them. The better question she thought to herself as she glanced at him was just how far they should go considering the circumstances.

"So, I'll see you in an hour or so?" Kate heard Castle say as they stepped out the precinct doors.

"Sure. What do you have up your sleeve?"

"What makes you think I'm up to anything? I plan on being a perfect gentleman tonight. Just need to pick up some supplies before heading over is all. Your place isn't exactly known for having much, minus the science experiments in your refrigerator."

"Funny... and you have that gleam in your eye that tells me you are definitely up to something." Kate said as she leaned slightly toward him.

"Guess you will have to wait and find out, now won't you? See you in an hour."

Kate watched Castle walk off for a moment. Just as he was about to get out of earshot Kate said, "Hey Castle?"

"Yeah"

"What makes you think I want you to be a perfect gentleman tonight? You always have said girls like bad boys."

Kate watched as Castle stared at her for a moment and let a small smile cross his face. He then turned with a slight spring in his step and walked away. Kate didn't know what got into her just then but had a feeling this was going to be an interesting night.

She let her eyes linger on Castle's body before she turned and headed toward her place. Instead of taking her car, like she originally planned, she decided to walk home so she could burn off some of the energy building inside her. She could still feel Castle's fingers on the back of her neck and could feel the anticipation for tonight building inside her. She knew Castle would be up to something but she also knew she could throw him off his game by striking first. After all, she was in the mood to have a little fun.

XOXOXOXOXOXO

Kate had just finished changing when she heard a knock at the door. Knowing that about an hour had past, she guessed it had to be Castle.

Kate opened the door to find Castle holding some takeout and a small cloth grocery bag.

"Hi... I see you are a man of your word. Kind of surprised you only chose one form of takeout, not that I mind. Let me help you carry something." Kate said in a rush. She was strangely nervous about tonight but tried to not let it show.

"Here, take the food if you want. The stuff in the other bag is a surprise for later. Trust me you won't be disappointed."

"Trust you, have I taught you nothing, Castle? Trust is to be earned. Do you really think you've done that at this point?" Kate teased as she stared Castle down till she saw a smirk come across his face as he leaned in toward her.

"Detective, If you didn't trust me, you wouldn't let me touch your face or let me brush my lips lightly across your cheek now would you? Besides, I believe you told someone once that I'm someone you trust. You wouldn't be going back on your word now would you?"

Kate closed her eyes for a moment before opening them and looked directly into Castle's eyes. What she saw was the same nervous energy she felt herself but also a hint of trouble mixed with admiration.

"I can assure you that I never back down from my word. You aren't the only one with ideas for tonight, just so you know. Whose to say I don't have some surprises myself..."

"And are you going to share with the class just what these ideas are?" Castle asked.

Kate leaned in close to Castle as she let her lips lightly brush his ear, before she whispered, "Rick, I have all kind of ideas. Some even involve tasting and touching." Kate let her lips linger for a moment before she continued, "I'm talking about the food of course. We can't let this food that you brought get cold."

Kate felt the electricity passing through them as they both leaned back slightly away from each other.

"I'll have to investigate some of your ideas later after we eat and after I give you that neck massage I promised you. I am a man of my word." Castle said as Kate felt his fingers brush the back of her neck before he continued "What do you think of this new Chinese place I used tonight?"

"Not bad at all but I think I've had it before. How'd you find out about it?"

"You have had it before, on your date with Demming at the precinct but lets not bring up bad memories - for me at least. Esposito told me about it though and I thought I would try it out tonight."

Kate could see Castle face as he struggled to mask the hurt her time with Demming caused. She felt for him and thought she would encourage him some or maybe encourage herself.

"Yeah well, maybe those bad memories will be replaced with good ones tonight. It all depends on how good your hands really are though." Kate teased.

"Seeing as we are both finished eating, why don't we put the rest in your refrigerator and retire to your couch. "

"I think I can handle that plan. I'll pour us some more wine while you grab whatever it is that you brought as my surprise and meet you over there. Just don't take too long." Kate said as she let her eyes roam down his body.

"Why Beckett did you just suggest that you are looking forward to my hands being on your body? I'm touched or should it be you're touched?"

"Maybe I am. I liked what I felt before and want to see just what you got but you better bring your A game to impress me." Kate flirted.

"Oh, I always bring my A game and you will be may not ever want me to stop once I get started."

Kate took one more look at him before she grabbed the two glasses of wine and headed toward her couch with a slight sway in her hips . She had just put them down on the coffee table when Castle sat down behind her. She figured the best place for her was sitting on the floor while Castle worked his magic.

She glanced over her shoulder at the bag that was now sitting beside him. He pulled out a tube of what she assumed to be some kind of massage gel and watched as he put some on his hands.

"You know this would work better if you stopped looking at me and kept your head straight." She felt Castle whisper into her ear as he put his hands on the base of her neck. A shiver went down her spine but also caused her to move her neck to where he requested.

Kate breathed in the scent of cherries as she felt his hands start to slowly knead the tender muscles. He was gentle at first but slowly started to get more firm with his touch as the tension started to release. She could feel herself start to relax into his touch and enjoy the moment.

"You like that?"

"Oh, yeah. You are good at this. Makes me wonder what else you might be good at as well." Kate said softly.

"I'm good at a lot of things. Be assured though that I will only go as far you want. "

"I know and I appreciate it." Kate said as she reached up to grab one of his hands, stopping what he was doing.

She turned to face him with his hand still in hers and looked into his eyes. What she saw was complete admiration and respect for her. She knew at that moment she was ready to take the next step with him, even if it was a small one. She felt them inching toward each other with their eyes locked on each other. Her lips touched his first just barely.

Kate felt his lips respond to her own as they started to move in sync with each other. Both tentative but filled with promise. She could feel herself being pulled up to the couch by his hands so they were on the same level, deepening the kiss slightly. Kate moved her hands to the back of his neck running them through his thick hair, pulling their bodies even closer. His hands ran through her curls as they continued to kiss. When the need for air became too much, she leaned her head against his and looked into his eyes.

"That was nice. I see that you can do more with your mouth than spin stories." Kate murmured before giving him another light kiss.

"Yes it was. You are not so bad yourself. In fact, I would call that amazing and hope to do more of it."

"Well, there is no time like the present." Kate challenged

Kate leaned in to touch her lips to his as they fell back slightly on the couch with their arms wrapped around each other. The kisses were slow and sensuous with just a hint of more to come while savoring the line they just crossed.

After a long while, the kissing slowed to light nips at each other's lips while they cuddled on Kate's couch. She heard Castle take a deep before asking the question that hung between them.

"You know Kate, when I came over tonight I didn't plan on this happening. Not that I didn't enjoy it. Quite the opposite it in fact. I just wanted to see you relax before diving in again on this case."

"That's sweet. Whose to say I didn't plan this myself? I knew what your intentions were and however honorable, I may have decided to take it further. " Kate suggested.

"How devious of you. I like it."

"I'll give you fair warning, Rick. You are going to have your hands full with me." Kate teased as she gave him another quick kiss.

"I've managed up to this point so I think I can handle you. I know I'm sure going to enjoy trying."

Kate smiled but couldn't stop herself from yawning. She hadn't felt this relaxed in a long time and the events of the past several days were starting to catch up to her.

"How about we continue this another night. We are both tired and need to get some sleep. "

"You may be right as much as I don't want this evening to end. I'm sure their will be others. Maybe after this case gets wrapped up, we can explore some more of your magic hands elsewhere on my body." Kate teased, letting her hands lightly run down his arms.

"Count on it."

They got up from the couch, put their now empty wine glasses in the sink, and walked toward her door.

Kate leaned in for what started out as a quick kiss but turned into something much more heated. Before things went farther than either of them wanted, she felt Rick break contact with her and moved his lips to her cheek.

"Until tomorrow, Kate. I'll see you at the precinct bright and early. Sleep tight. Don't let the bed bugs bite."

"Until tomorrow, Rick and don't forget my coffee. After a night like tonight I'm going to need it." Kate chuckled as she shut and locked her door.

She touched her lips lightly while she leaned against her door. Definitely an eventful night for both of them. Maybe they hadn't missed their chance or got a second chance. Either way, she was ready she thought as she headed toward her bedroom for that much deserved good night's sleep.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXO

Despite how tired Kate was, she found herself having a hard time going to sleep. She was too keyed up from the evening's events. She lied in bed and could not get her mind to turn off. Did she make the wrong move in kissing him? It felt so good, so right but was it too soon after Josh? They were partners and worked well together. She knew this would change things, but for the good or bad? She didn't want her personal life shared with the entire precinct but would it be fair to hold it from her team. After everything they had been through the past few months, they were more than just were family and sure she would get teased but she knew they would back her up. Kate chuckled to herself when she thought about how Ryan and Esposito would probably threaten Castle about hurting her. She knew he wouldn't though, at least not intentionally.

Finally she drifted off to sleep and when she woke the next morning, she actually felt relaxed. She decided to head to the precinct a bit earlier than usual with the intention of hitting the gym to workout.

Those intentions went out the window as she left her building and made her way toward the precinct. She happened to run into Castle along the way, literally.

"Sorry. Must have a lot on my mind and wasn't paying close enough attention." Kate said quickly without bothering to looking up at the person. She was usually much more observant but today she was off her game slightly. She started to walk away when she heard the gentleman speak.

"Not a problem. Just what has you so rattled this morning anyway. Could it be your evening last night?"

Kate knew that voice and stopped dead in her tracks. She let her head turn and meet the eyes of none other than Castle.

"Castle? Just what are you doing up so early or in my area of town?" Kate inquired.

"Well, I thought I would surprise you with coffee and a bear-claw before you headed into the precinct. You did tell me not to forget the coffee."

"I did, but I meant at the precinct, not my place. How'd you know I would be up anyway?" Kate said incredulously.

"Call it my spidey sense. What can I say, I know you."

"You knew that I was going to get up and hit the gym before work? Something I don't usually do. I find that hard to believe." Kate said with a hint of disbelief crossing her face.

"Well, if you had even half the energy still coursing through your veins that I had after last night, I figured you would want to work it off before facing the guys. I just misjudged exactly when you'd head this way. Thanks for bumping into me by the way. It was nice."

"I probably had more energy than you did and you are full of yourself this morning. You're right about facing the guys though." Kate relented.

"Wait, did I hear Kate Beckett tell me I'm right? This is looking to be a good day. Maybe I should write this down so I can remember it."

"Don't make me regret telling you that you were right. Besides, I don't think you will have a hard time remembering today." Kate said as she leaned in to give him a light kiss.

"Kate Beckett you continue to surprise me... kissing out in the middle of the sidewalk? Can we do it again?"

Kate rolled her eyes but slipped a hand into Castle's as she grabbed the coffee he was carrying. She let her fingers lace together with his and started walking.

"I have a better idea since we have some time before I have to be at work. How about we work off some of this extra energy we both seem to have with a walk in the park." Kate suggested.

"I'm game for that plan. I'd follow you any where just as long as you let me touch you along the way. I mean holding your hand of course."

"Yeah, sure you did... not that I mind exactly. Just not the right time or place."

Kate stopped them for a moment and looked into his eyes. She needed to put this out there now so they could enjoy the rest of their time before work.

"Look, I'm just going to put this out there and I need you to really listen to me, okay?"

"OK. I'm all ears"

"I'm not sure where we are going with all this but I know I don't want anything to change with us working together. I'm not naive to think the guys won't pick up on the change with us but I don't want the rest of the precinct to get involved in my personal life. This means keeping the touching and tasting to a minimum while at work. Understand?" Kate said with a firm voice but a smile on her face.

"Duly noted. Now let's enjoy the rest of that walk you planned out for us. I want to get as much touching in as I can before duty calls. "

Kate laughed some and squeezed his hand. She felt more at ease with him than she had all morning. Maybe this would work out after all. They continued to walk, allowing themselves to just enjoy each other's company until her cell phone began to ring.

"Beckett."

"Yeah, we got a hit on your Bobby Stinelli." Ryan said.

"Okay, we're not that far from the precinct now so we'll be there shortly. In the mean time, start going through his background. I want to be prepared when we go pick him up." Kate commanded and then took a quiet but deep breath. She knew what was coming next.

"You got it. Wait, did you say we? Is Castle there with you?"

"Yes, we were taking a walk through the park before we headed in to the precinct. No, he didn't stay the night before you ask, not that it is any of your business. We just ran into each other." Kate said

"Sure -we'll get working on that background you wanted and have it ready when you get here."

"Thanks Ryan. See you in a few." Kate said as she ended her call. She then turned to Castle and said, "We got a hit on our suspect so we need to cut our walk a little short."

"Pesky work always gets in the way but duty calls even if I'm not a cop."

"You may not be a cop but you are my partner. The quicker we nail this guy and close this case, the quicker we can get to more enjoyable activities." Kate said as she gave him one last peck on the lips.

"Beckett, you are one evil woman. I like it. Let's go." She heard Castle say as she pulled them along faster toward work. This day started out in a way she never would have thought but she hoped it would end with exactly what she had in mind.


	8. Chapter 8

_**A/N: Need to thank Xonze and Tycho657 for being my beta readers on this chapter. They both did a wonderful job on making this chapter better. Please enjoy it and feel free to leave a review.**_

_**As usual, the characters in this story belong to ABC and the brilliant Andrew Marlowe. **_

****

Just as they got to the doors of the precinct, Kate gave Castle's hand a slight squeeze and let go. She needed to put her game face back on and get to work. The faster they solved this case, the faster she could get back to exploring further what she started last night. As she opened the door though she felt a tug on her hand that pulled her backwards.

Kate looked up at Castle but before she could say or do anything, she felt his lips briefly touch hers in a gentle kiss.

"Needed to get my last touch in before we go face the boys and I didn't think you wanted me to kiss you in the elevator because of the cameras."

"You do realize the front entrance of the precinct also has cameras right?" Kate asked.

"Oh I know but if you noticed, I pulled you slightly backwards and out of sight of said cameras. This way I got my kiss but didn't broadcast it to the entire precinct."

"How noble of you. Just remember whatever is going on between us is to be kept under-wraps while we are at work. Now after work, that's a different story." Kate stated as a small smile crossed her face.

"As long as I get to write said story or shall we say, participate in it, I'll behave myself. At least I won't do anything I don't already do to you. Got to keep it real."

Kate just shook her head as she headed to the elevators with Castle right at her side. They stepped inside standing a touch closer than normal but she couldn't bring herself to move. She enjoyed this new closeness, however brief, of theirs as it reassured her she made the right decision. He was her partner and they worked well together. This closeness would only serve to make them even more in sync and work even better together. Just as she started to turn to look at Castle, the ding of the elevator sounded and the doors opened.

She scanned the bullpen and found Ryan at his desk with Esposito looking over his shoulder.

"You guys are here early. Not have a good night last night?" Kate heard Castle tease as he bumped hands with both of them.

"Oh please, I got plenty of action last night but someone had to be called into work early. I thought I would come in and get started on the background check of this Bobby character. " Esposito said.

"What about you Ryan? Have a good night?"

"Not as good as you appeared to have Castle. Care to share what's got you all happy?" Ryan asked.

Kate looked at Castle from where she was standing at the murder board and raised her eyebrow. She then shrugged her shoulders and smiled some before heading toward the break room for some much needed coffee. She trusted him to not share too much about last night but knew it was unrealistic to think he could keep it from them completely.

"Just had a nice night with someone completely amazing is all."

"This amazing person wouldn't happen to be Beckett now would it?" Ryan quipped.

"Now that is for me to know and for you to figure out on your own. You are a Detective. Besides, if you are so interested, why don't you ask Beckett ?

"In case you haven't noticed, Beckett isn't exactly considered a "sharer" type of person." Esposito chimed in as he stepped closer to Castle

"True but she has relaxed a bit since Castle started coming around. Maybe I will ask her." Ryan added.

Kate heard enough of the conversation between the boys as she walked back to her desk to make her smile. She couldn't resist baiting them a bit though.

"So Ryan, I heard you have something you wanted to ask me? I'm sure its related to the case as we're supposed to be working and we do have a suspect to pick up. " Kate challenged.

"Um, no-no question. We found out where Bobby Stinelli was crashing after he got out of Rikers. Here's the address. We were also able to get a warrant based on the information tying him to this case."

"Road trip?" Castle asked.

"Yeah, let's go." Kate turned to look at where the rest of her team was standing. "Guys suit up as well. This guy is dangerous and I want some back up in case he decides to run."

"Got it boss." Ryan and Esposito both stated.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

As they pulled up along Dave's Tavern in Hell's Kitchen, Kate looked over at Castle just as he turned his head toward her. They locked eyes for a split second but long enough for each of them to see the concern in their eyes. Unlike other take downs, more seemed to be at stake now. Kate reached out and squeezed his hand before she let go to get out of the vehicle. It was enough for now.

Castle and Beckett met the guys at the back of her car giving them enough time to size up the building.

"Castle, I don't suppose you would stay in the car if I told you to, would you? From what we've learned, this guy can be unpredictable which makes him more dangerous." Kate asked.

"What? And miss all the action? Not a chance. Beside, someone has to watch your back."

"And just what do you call the guys?" Kate quipped

"Partners, just like we are and two teams are always better than one or is it two is better than one. Not sure which one I like better really. "

"Fine but stay behind me and don't do anything stupid. Ryan, Esposito, let's go. " Kate commanded.

They walked up the flight of stairs toward where the suspect was supposed to be. Kate raised her arm and knocked on the door. She heard some noises coming from inside but no one came to the door so she decided to be a little more forceful. "NYPD, open the damn door!"

The door opened to show a rough looking guy with tattoos along both arms. Kate immediately reached for her firearm as a precaution. She glanced at the guys who did the same.

"What do you want? You can't just come barging into my place. I know my rights."

"We can when we have a warrant, Mr. Stinelli. Now turn around and place your arms behind your back. " Kate instructed as she pulled out her cuffs.

"You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to speak to an attorney, and to have an attorney present during any questioning. If you cannot afford a lawyer, one will be provided for you at government expense." Kate continued not willing to let this guy get off on a technicality.

She handed Bobby Stinelli off to Ryan and Esposito as she started to look around. She noticed Castle had wandered toward a corner of the small apartment, intent on looking at something. Just before she had a chance to question what he found, she heard: "What are all these World War II artifacts doing in a place like this? They should be in a museum or at the very least locked up somewhere nicer."

"It's highly likely they were stolen Castle. It would fit what our other guy told us. Don't suppose you see anything that could be used to strangle someone? We still don't have our murder weapon" Kate said.

"Oh ye of little faith, Detective. It's here, I'm sure of it. If this guy was dumb enough to keep these artifacts out in plain sight, he's dumb enough not to get rid of the murder weapon. It would have been too valuable to him."

"Yeah, but the chances of recognizing it in this pile are slim to none. We don't even know what it looks like exactly." Kate said skeptically.

"No, but we do know it is a tool that could be used to strangle someone. It would also be something that would only cause a small, thin line across a neck. By looking at all the metal artifacts, you would have to conclude it would be made out of some kind of loop shaped wire."

Kate walked closer to where the stuff was found laid out on a small table and scanned the artifacts. She could feel Castle slightly close to her but not close enough to raise any questions. At the same time, they started to reach for the same piece of metal.

"I think I just found the murder weapon!" Kate and Castle said at the same time. Kate let a smile cross her face as she picked up the tool and placed it in an evidence bag.

"Lets get this down to the Lanie. See if she can match this up to the marks left on our vic. I'll have CSU sweep this place in case anything else can be tied to this murder. Looks like our Bobby Stinelli is going to have some explaining to do."

XOXOXOXOXOXOX

Kate and Castle walked down the long hallway to the morgue with their fingers just barely laced together. It felt comfortable to her and put her in a good mood. The fact that they found what they think was the murder weapon, didn't hurt matters either. As she reached the door, she glanced at Castle and let go off his fingers. This case needed to solved soon, for the victim and for herself.

"Hey Lanie."

"Hey girl. I hear you found me a murder weapon?" Lanie said.

"Yeah, I did in fact. Found it in our suspect's place. Think you can run it against our vic?"

"Sure thing. Hand it over and I'll get right on it. In the mean time, I hear, you two had a nice night." Lanie teased.

"We might have. No more than what you had from what I hear." Kate quipped back.

Kate watched Lanie take the artifact out of the evidence bag and swab it before putting it under the microscope. Just when Kate thought Lanie had dropped the subject, she smarted back.

"Oh no, baby. My night was much hotter until I got called in to work at least. Got to take it when you can I guess and be very grateful when bosses call it an early night."

Kate laughed some but quickly focused back on the body in question. She wanted to know if they had a match and she wanted to know now.

"So, does this match the marks found on the neck?" Kate asked.

Lanie leaned over the body once more and compared the suspected murder weapon to the marks found. From what Kate could tell, it was a perfect match.

"Looks like a perfect match to me. Case solved!" Castle chimed in with a smirk on his face.

"Since when did you get an ME liscense. You got somewhere better you want to be, Castle?"

"I'm right where I want to be, Dr. Parish. Who wouldn't want to be in a room with two beautiful ladies." Castle said.

"Always the charmer, Castle. You are right though. It appears what you brought me matches the mark found on her neck and is the tool used to strangle her. We'll have to wait for test results to come back for a definite ruling on it though."

"Thanks Lanie. Let us know when they come back. I'll let our suspect stew in a holding cell until you get back with us. "Kate said and then turned to Castle. "In the meantime, lets get back to see if CSU came up with anything else that may help us with this case."

XOXOXOXOXO

As they walked into the bullpen, Kate put the guys on digging up any reports of stolen World War II artifacts in the area while she headed toward the murder board. She felt Castle slide next to her as his hips just barely touched her own.

"So we know that Bobby was involved in some kind of theft ring targeting World War II artifacts and we now know the method used to strangle our victim. What makes no sense is how she managed to uncover this in the first place and why, when she did, didn't she come to the police?" Kate heard Castle debate.

"We may never know that answer. Her job dictated a layer of secrecy that may have prevented her from coming to us. It's possible as a target analyst, she was looking into something else as a matter of national security and stumbled upon this operation."

"Yeah, I guess. Just wish we knew for sure. Would make for a better story."

"What? Having a murder surrounding all this classified information isn't enough for you? Not sure how much more intrigue could be involved in this case to satisfy you." Kate teased.

"Ooo...International Intrigue, the rise of a sleeper cell in Manhattan. I kind of like it. Anyway, CSU come back yet with anything useful?"

"Came back, yes. Anything more useful to our case, no. Ryan, you get any hits on stolen World War II artifacts in the area?" Kate asked as she looked toward the guys desks.

"As matter of fact yes. I'm passing on the information to our robbery department now. I kind of figured they could handle the cleanup once we get this case solved. "

"Good call. Where'd Esposito go? He was here a minute ago."Castle asked.

"Oh, Lanie called with the results on the murder weapon and he went down to get them. "

"I bet that's not the only reason."

"What, Castle? You jealous he might be getting more action than yourself?" Kate asked as she stepped right into his personal space.

"Jealous? Please. She's not my type anyway. I prefer tall brunette's with long hair and a quick wit who gives as good as she gets."

"Oh I give alright. In ways you could only start to imagine." Kate whispered in Castle's ear. Kate stepped back slightly before saying "Cat got your tongue Castle?"

"Look, Esposito has returned from his rather quick trip to the morgue and he brought us a gift. Did you get the brush off from your girl?"

"Boy, you better step back. No, I figured the quicker I got back, the quicker we can get this guy's confession and close the case. I'd like to finish what I started last night before work got in the way." Esposito said as he handed the file over.

Kate opened the file and confirmed what had already been suspected. The weapon found in Bobby's apartment was definitely the one used to strangle their victim.

"Okay, get Bobby brought up to interrogation. I want to see what this guy has to say for himself. We need the confession to make this an airtight case for the DA."

As Espositio called down to holding, Kate felt Castle lean in next to her and whisper in her ear.

"So, got any plans after this case gets wrapped up?"

"What do you have in mind, Castle?" Kate asked knowing he was up to something.

"Dinner at my place as a celebration for closing the case with Alexis? She has a date with Ashley later but I know she would love to see you again. Afterwards, we could have a more private party, one that involves a lot of give and take."

"I think that can be arranged." Kate said, a small smile flashing across her face as they headed toward the interrogation rooms.


	9. Chapter 9

_**A/N: Need to thank my betas Tycho657 and Xonze for helping me with this final chapter of the story. Both have been a great encouragement to me throughout it. RKCaskett has also been a great ear for when I needed to talk parts of the story out or just encourage me to write. I hope everyone enjoys the final chapter and leave a review if you should feel so inclined. **__**As usual, the characters in this story belong to ABC and the brilliant Andrew Marlowe.**_

****

Instead of heading directly into the interrogation room holding their suspect, Kate veered off toward the other side of the glass. She liked to size up her opponents before going in for the kill and this case was no exception. Kate felt Castle's shoulder brush her own as they watched Bobby casually sit in one of the chairs, acting like he'd done nothing wrong. His eyes told another story as they shifted all around the room. Another few minutes and he would be right where she wanted him.

"It's a game for you isn't it?" She heard Castle ask as she turned her head to look at him.

She raised an eyebrow, considered his question for a moment. She couldn't really argue with the assessment, she got a rush out of breaking a suspect; a rush out of digging for the truth and making her suspect spill their guts, in a sense. She assumed the rush was the same as a star athlete would get. The difference being that when she won she got something better than a trophy. She got closure for the victim's family.

I'm very good at what I do in the box." She answered honestly but continued, "It's more important that I'm able to give some closure to the victim's family and friends."

"A closure you are still hoping to find yourself."

"Yes, but some closure is better than having nothing." Kate said softly as she let her hand drift over to his where they laced their fingers briefly.

Kate and Castle watched as Bobby started to shift more in his seat the longer he sat in the room. Kate figured this was giving him time to stew over his actions and what the worst case scenarios could be. This guy was no stranger to the joint so he knew what he was facing. Taking a deep breath to mentally prepare herself, she let go of Castle's hand, squared her shoulders and opened the door to the room.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

Kate and Castle walked into the room and sat down directly across from Bobby. She waited a moment as she glared directly into his eyes, letting him know she wasn't going to put up with much. This was her playing field and just by her posture everyone who opposed her knew they had to play by her rules.

"Bobby Stinelli, just what exactly were you doing with all those World War II artifacts? You don't strike me as a collector."

"How would you know what a collector looks like, Detective? It's possible I was borrowing the stuff for research of my own."

"Really? That's what you're going with? I would think that an experienced thug, like yourself, would have come up with something more creative."

"Why would I have to be creative when you can't prove anything anyway?"

"You're absolutely sure that we can't prove anything Bobby? Because from where I stand, we wouldn't have you here if we didn't have something." Castle chimed in upon Beckett's slight nod.

"Prove it."

Kate calmly took out a picture of the victim from the folder she carried in with her and slid it across the table to him. He was not going to willingly confess to anything so now it was time to give him some encouragement.

"Let's start with the picture of Katarina Footelli, the lady you killed. You see that thin line along her neck? I bet you thought what you used to strangle her would be untraceable but you were wrong." Kate started.

"I didn't kill anyone lady. You can ask my boy that you talked to already. He'll back me up."

"Funny you should mention him. We did in fact talk to him which is how we tracked you down. You see your boy wasn't as loyal to you as you thought he would be. He told us everything. I believe that is called saving his own ass. So, now what you got?" Castle said.

"By your boy telling us where you were hiding, we were able to arrest your ass and search your place. I'm betting, by the look on your face right now, you know exactly what we found among the artifacts."

Bobby Stinelli just shrugged his shoulders not willing to give in quite yet. Kate knew she would get him to break soon just by the fact that his voice was starting to crack in his responses back to her.

"You see here is what I think happened Bobby. You were involved in a lucrative job to steal World War II artifacts, in particular ones that were used by the French Resistance and Intelligence Communities. Was working pretty well for a while until Katarina stumbled upon your group and was getting ready to blow the whistle to her employers. You couldn't allow that so you tried to get your boy to take care of it for you. When he refused, you decided to take care of her yourself. You watched her for a while, getting to know her patterns while looking for the right moment. Am I close?"

"You might be. She was a strong bitch, I'll admit to that for sure. How her boys could put up with her beating them week after week at the gym is something I'll never understand."

"You knew she would be able to take you even with a gun based on her hand to hand combat training so you looked at what you could use that you had already stolen. You saw this wire noose with a handle and you knew it would take her down quietly and efficiently."

Kate took that moment to pause and slid a picture of the touché de le verve' over to Bobby.

"Funny how the line on Katarina's neck is exactly the mark that this wire noose would have caused. The prints on this weapon match yours Bobby. You killed Katarina."

Kate felt Bobby try and stare her down. Almost to see who would tip their hand first but no one could stare down a suspect better than her. This was her territory and with a raise of her eyebrow, Bobby flinched first.

"Yeah, well she had it coming. The nerve of her to try and put a stop to the best gig I scored since getting out of prison. I wasn't going to let anyone spoil it for me so I got rid of the problem." Bobby yelled.

"Well that problem, as you call her, had a family, a daughter and husband who loved her. By killing her, you brought on a whole host of problems of which you have never seen. You see, prisoners don't usually take a liking to murders who leave young daughters without a mom. Have fun with that while you face first degree murder."

Kate looked back at the two way mirror knowing the guys were watching the whole thing unfold. She knew by just giving them a look, they would be in to take Bobby away. She had her confession so all that remained was informing the victim's family and friends. Something that, while satisfying, she never looked forward to but knew it would bring them much needed closure.

As she watched Bobby being led away by Esposito and Ryan, she headed over to her desk to make two necessary phone calls.

As she sat down and reached for her phone, she felt Castle's hand lightly touching her free hand. She casually turned her hand over and let her fingers intertwine with his. These calls would not be easy and with the guys busy taking Bobby down to processing she could allow herself some support.

"Yes, may I speak to Mr. Footelli please. This is Detective Kate Beckett, I was working on your wife's case. We caught the guy who killed her. Unfortunately it all tied back to something she stumbled into at work and was about to report. Yes sir, we'll have someone let you know when he goes to trial. Thank you and good luck with everything." Kate said as she hung up the phone letting out a small breath.

Kate looked at her cell and realized it was around the time that Katarina's coworkers would be at the gym. Instead of calling, she thought her and Castle could stop by on the way to the Loft. Normally she would stay to do paperwork but thought she would give her team a break and let everyone have a nice evening instead. Paperwork could wait for once.

"Hey guys, back from processing I see. Nice work on the case. What do you say we call it an early day and leave the cleanup for tomorrow?" Kate suggested.

"Who are you and what have you done with Beckett? I thought you always finished paperwork after we closed a case. What, you got a hot date tonight or something?" Esposito quipped.

"Or something...my offer is a short term offer so take it or leave it."

"Oh, you don't have to tell me twice. I'm out of here. Maybe I'll pick up something on the way home to surprise Jenny."

"Yeah bro, I'm out too. See you tomorrow."

"Bright and early guys. We still have paperwork to finish up before this case is officially closed." Kate reminded as both guys headed for the elevator.

"Yeah sure. No problem." They both said as the elevator doors closed.

She turned to Castle and leaned into him enough to brush her mouth against his ear. "So, you ready to go? We do have a private party to look forward to tonight. After Alexis leaves on her date of course."

"Of course, lead the way."

XOXOXOXOXOXO

As Kate pulled away from gym, after informing Katarina's coworkers that they caught her killer, she thought back to something Brent said to her just as she was leaving. He told her how she reminded him a lot of Katarina, about how the thing that set Katarina apart was her knowing when to take a risk and when to fall back and let those who loved her support her. She never let an opportunity pass her up or scare her from doing something. Something to think about indeed.

"What is going through that head of yours, Kate? You are being unusually quiet when I thought you would be happy we solved this case and brought everyone some closure."

"Just something Brent said as we were leaving..." Kate said but didn't elaborate.

"You mean what he said about risks and knowing when to let people support you. Yeah, I thought that might get to you because I know it got to me."

"Seriously? You, the person who wears his heart on his sleeve and is definitely not afraid to take risks based on your past history." Kate said as she glanced his direction.

"Calculated risks Kate, and usually ones that I'm fairly sure my heart will win. Appearances and attitudes can be deceiving. Just because one comes across as confident doesn't make it true in matters of the heart."

"So do you think you are ready to take another risk even if the outcome may be uncertain?" Kate casually asked.

Kate felt Castle reach over and intertwine their fingers together. He then brought her hand up to his mouth and lightly brushed his mouth along her knuckles.

"Only if this amazingly complex person took that risk with me. I think it could be quite the ride and one I never intend to get off."

"I'm not sure you could handle the ride you are about to take, Castle but hearing you scream along the way would be worth it." Kate teased.

She felt Castle brush his lips once more over her's and was starting to move close to her neck just as they arrived in front of his building. While not opposed to where this was leading, she knew she needed to distract both of them in order to get through dinner with Alexis. The last thing she wanted was to have Alexis watch things heat up between herself and her dad so she leaned over and gave Castle a smoldering kiss that would have to last them till they could be on their own.

"What was that kiss for? Trying to get me all hot and bothered before seeing my teenage, very impressionable daughter?"

"Just a preview of what is to come tonight if you keep your hands to yourself in front of your very perceptive and sweet daughter. Now, what's for dinner? I'm famished." Kate said.

"Well, I'm not sure what exactly Alexis has cooked up for us. When I texted her earlier about dinner plans, she insisted on surprising both of us. "

"We better get up there then and see." Kate said as she grabbed his hand and headed toward the elevator.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO

Just as Castle started to unlock the door to the loft, Kate saw the door open to a very excited, red headed young lady.

"Detective Beckett! Dad texted me that you would be joining us for dinner. Come in, come in and make yourself at home." Kate heard as Alexis ushered her inside. "Hi, Dad."

"Daughter. Nice of you to remember your dear old dad. You know the one who raised you and pays your allowance."

Kate watched as Alexis rolled her eyes but leaned over and gave Castle a peck on the cheek.

"You know I love you dad. It's just nice to have another female at the Loft for once."

"Hey, what about Gram?" Castle said.

"Seriously? Gram and her drama antics don't count. Not that I don't love her because I do. So you guys ready to eat?"

Kate couldn't help but chuckle at the easy banter between Alexis and Castle. It was fun to see a side of Castle she often didn't get to see unless he was coming to her for advice.

"Sure. What can I do to help?" Kate asked

"Oh no, you two sit down and relax. I've got dinner covered."

"If you're sure, I'll just grab some wine for Kate and I before we sit down." Castle said.

"Sure, I've got the table all set for us so you can head over to it."

Kate felt Castle's hand brush along her own as she was handed a glass of wine. She thought she would tease back some by running her fingers down his arm as she turned to head toward the table. Neither one noticed that Alexis had watched the whole interaction nor saw the smile that crossed her face.

While waiting for Alexis to finish up, Kate heard Castle lift up his glass and quietly propose a toast.

"To taking risks in all matters of the heart and never missing another chance at what one wants."

"I'll toast to that, Castle." They clinked glasses but before they could drink Kate leaned in and continued brushing her lips lightly against his ear "And you know exactly what I want don't you?"

Before Castle could retaliate with his own remark, Kate saw Alexis coming forward, dinner in hand. She leaned back and smiled at her but not before running her foot casually up the inside of Castle's leg.

"Dinner is served."

"Smells great kiddo. Looks like you put a lot of effort despite your date with Ashley tonight. I'm flattered," Castle teased.

"Yeah, Alexis. I'm surprised you were able to get this cooked with all you have going on tonight." Kate added.

"Oh, it's nothing really. Just some baked pasta that I threw together. I figured after a hard case, you'd want some comfort food and for me, any kind of pasta fills that need."

"Well, we appreciate it. Beats take out and a home cooked meal is nice every once in a while." Kate said as she took a bite.

"You're welcome here any time, Detective Beckett at least as far as I'm concerned. I'm sure Dad here wouldn't object either."

"I have no doubt he wouldn't object so tell me about this date with Ashley tonight. I only get to hear about him through your dad and I'm sure he's a tad biased. Alexis, you can call me Kate when we aren't at the station or on official business."

Kate watched out of the corner of her eye as Castle sat back and listen to them talk about Alexis's plans for tonight and other topics. He had that glint in his eye, but also something else she couldn't quite pinpoint. She wanted to say he almost had a look of contentment while he ate his food and if she was honest with herself, felt the same way.

"Oh look at the time, I need to get upstairs and get changed for my date. Ashley will be picking me up soon. Dad behave yourself if he comes before I'm ready."

"Oh, don't worry Alexis, I'll make sure to distract him from doing anything too stupid." Kate said.

Kate waited until Alexis was in her room before she leaned in toward Castle. He apparently had the same idea as they ended up meeting in the middle.

"So, Kate, exactly how are you going to keep me distracted?"

"I have many ways to keep you distracted, Rick. Most of which are inappropriate while your daughter is upstairs but for now this will have to do." Kate leaned in and lightly brushed her lips against his. She pulled back just enough to look him in the eyes before kissing him again. The kiss started to deepen and hands were starting to roam when a knock was heard announcing the arrival of Ashley.

Kate pulled back so Castle could get up and open the door to allow Ashley into the Loft.

"Come on in, Ashley. You know Detective Beckett or have at least seen her when you were down at the precinct last. "

"Yes, sir and hello Detective Beckett. It's nice to finally meet you officially. Alexis has mentioned you to me a few times."

"Did she now? Hope it was all good. I do carry a gun, not that I would use it on sweet Alexis or anything." Kate quipped. She couldn't help but tease him some.

"Oh yes ma'am. She spoke very highly of you."

"Speak of the devil. Here she comes now. Alexis have a good time tonight. Don't do anything I wouldn't do and I would do a lot. On second thought, maybe you shouldn't follow in my footsteps." Castle said quickly.

"What? Afraid there's more of you in me than you wanted? Don't worry, Dad, Ashley is a perfect gentleman." She looked down at her watch, her breath caught, "And we need to be going if we are going to catch this movie. Bye Dad. Bye Kate"

Kate watched the door close and Castle locked up before he walked back toward her.

"Now, what do you say we continue what was so rudely interrupted?"

"I say bring it on, Rick," Kate said softly. She lifted her face toward his and let her heart take control.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

Kate felt Castle lean in and lightly touch his lips to her own. She reached her arms up and laced her fingers around his neck as he put his around her waist to pull her in tighter. For a long moment they just explored each other's mouths with light nips, each learning what the other liked while making sure not to push too hard or too fast. As things slowed between them, she heard Castle mumble, "I believe the only teenager in this relationship with the raging hormones to boot would be you, not that I can't take advantage of them."

"I think that offer sounds doable." Kate said.

"Never thought I would see the day that Kate Beckett would be willing to take advantage of little ole me. Although I believe at this point I can give back as much as you dish out."

"Is that a challenge, Rick? Because I don't back down from anything or anyone." Kate paused for a moment as her eyes travelled down his body and took notice of the bulge straining his pants. "As for little, by what I can see that is far from the truth and we both know how I always seek the truth."

Kate then leaned in to kiss Rick once more before he turned and led them toward the chairs in his office. She felt herself being pulled down onto his lap as he sat down. Definitely not a place she expected to be led knowing his history but one that seemed right for them.

They stopped for a moment to just gaze into each other's eyes. Each searching the other for answers, for what this could mean for the future.

"Kate, I..." Castle started but Kate interrupted

"Rick, I know and I feel it too."

She then leaned in and lightly kissed Rick's lips as she let her hands roam over his chest, taking note of how muscular he felt. She felt his hands lightly dance along her back, occasionally straying to just under her rib cage causing her whole body to tense up some in anticipation.

"You know, I didn't know you worked out. From what I can tell though, you must do it more than you let on." Kate said as she let her lips trace along his jaw line while Castle's hands were drifting dangerously close to the front of her.

"What can I say? I like to try and look good for the ladies, scratch that, I like to try and look good for one special lady. You know, the kind that carries a gun and could kick my ass any time she felt like it."

"Nice save Rick. Seriously though, we should work out together sometime at the precinct. Some mat work might be fun."

"I bet it would. Just name the time and I'll be there, but for now I've got other things we can do to keep ourselves occupied. We may even work up an appetite for the desert that Alexis left for us."

Kate looked at Rick with her eyebrows raised. It sounded very enticing and something to consider for later, desert wise.

"I could use a workout about now, of the lips variety. Maybe use my arms to move along your body and feel every inch of what I have to look forward to when we are ready to take that next step." Kate said suggestively.

It was her way of slowing things down. Tonight was about more than sleeping together. Tonight was about exploring each other. Learning about what made the other really tick and how they would move forward from this point without any outside distractions. For once, they were on the same page and could take their time.

Tracing each other's face with their fingertips, they each had a look of contentment and anticipation of what was to come.

No more missed chances, only opportunities of what they could build on from this moment in time.


End file.
